Centon: Crimson Sin
by SandalsintheSnow
Summary: Wade Barrett knows how to get what he wants, and when he wants John Cena, he makes sure it happens. For Cena, it's about biding his time and being subservient to Wade until their deal is done. For Wade, it's about dominating over and eventually breaking the spirit of his fiercest competition. If Wade only realized sooner that Cena's already been claimed.
1. Laced Up Boots

Author's Note: This is a re-post of my very first Centon fic that I wrote back in 2010. Hopefully readers remember the whole storyline where Cena was a slave to Nexus (the Wade Barrett version, not the confusing later versions that no one really gave a shit about). At the time, Randy was kind of forced into this rivalry with Wade and pitted against Cena, which made for a lot of super intense Centon moments. The storyline drifted off after Bragging Rights or Breaking Point or one of those PPVs that stared with a B, where Cena was ref in a match between Orton and Barrett. Cena risked being "fired" if Orton won, but Cena's all honest and decent and was like (in a fake conversation that only happened in my mind), "F-you, Barrett, I got principles," and Barrett was like, "WTF? You'd risk your job, you silly wanker?!" and Cena was like, "Yeah, man, I would," so he let Orton win and Cena was "fired" for like, all of about two minutes before he made some magical and kind of non-progressive return that involved purchasing a ticket and sitting in the audience to mess with Wade, which I think actually only messed with the fans because they were like, "OMGITSJOHNCENA!" Then some other shit happened and Nexus got re-vamped _Horrible Bosses_-style by CM Punk (who is featured as leader to the sequel of this story which I will post after I've finished posting this one, so expect a commitment as far as that's concerned). Nexus later dissolved (in my opinion it was because they removed Barrett to be his own boss, but what sucked about that was he was actually better leading a group than he was a one-man show), Cena continued to be a hero, and Randy got suspended and divorced and injured...damn, for being the ultimate winner of this rivalry, Orton got hit with the baddest hats.

I've rated it M for the mature content throughout. Lots of drama and all that. I don't claim to own any rights to WWE. This story is for entertainment..or at least, it entertains me to write it.

1:

"Cena, come here and lace up my boots."

I clenched my fists and sighed heavily, thankful that I was facing away from Wade so that he couldn't see the bitter expression on my face. I didn't want him to know how much I truly despised him and his power over me.

"Cena! I'm talkin' to you!"

My rage dripped through my fingertips and fell away from me as I forced my expression to go blank and calmly turned to face him. Wade was sitting in a giant recliner that he had asked me to bring to him an hour before RAW was about to start. It was no small task to find the recliner, and getting it through the door, past security and up two flights of stairs to Wade's dressing room was less than appealing.

He leaned back and gave me a knowing smile, as if he knew exactly what I was thinking. He hadn't so much as given me a simple thank you for the recliner. Now he was asking me to perform another humiliating task that he was completely capable of doing himself.

_And he knew that I hated him for it._

"Fine, I'll lace up your boots," I shrugged, acting like it didn't phase me.

I got down on one knee and reached for his left boot. Wade suddenly jerked away and said, "I want double knots, Cena. I won't have none of tha' bow-tie lookin' shit."

_Breath in through the nose, out through the mouth._

"Got it. Double knots," I repeated.

Wade smiled broadly and relaxed so that I could take his boots. I worked extensively to make every lace as tight and as articulate as possible. Wade took out his cell phone and pretended to be involved in a texting frenzy with the other Nexus members, but he would glance at me from time to time, as if he were deciding when would be a good time to launch his verbal onslaught.

_He won't make his torment obvious._

I finished lacing his boots. Wade turned his feet left to right, observing my work. I stood up and waited, preparing myself for one of Wade's lame excuses as to why I would have to unlace his boots and try again, a task that would be difficult and stressful, considering that he had a live match in four minutes.

He sighed passively and returned his attention to his cell phone. I waited in silence, but he refused to acknowledge I was even there. I finally asked aloud, "Is that all?"

Wade looked up at me like I had rudely interrupted him. I lifted a brow, waiting for him to say something. Instead, he put his focus back on his cell phone, waving me away with his free hand as he mumbled, "Go on, then. I'm busy."

"Right. I'll see you later," I said sarcastically, but he ignored me.

I walked out into the empty hallway of the arena. No one was around, so I thought I would take my time in the silence before I had to join Wade at ringside. I looked up at the beams coming down from the ceiling as I walked, and I wondered how much pressure it would take for them to collapse.

_Being a member of the Nexus was almost enough for me._

A loud thud came from behind me. I turned around just in time to be hit in the face by Heath Slater. David Otunga and Justin Gabriel flanked either side of me before I had time to get up, and all three of them began kicking the shit out of me.

I felt the blows, but I could only keep my arms up to shield my face and wait for them to stop. These ritual beatings were quickly becoming a condition of my servitude to Wade.

_You are either Nexus, or defense-less. _

"HEY!" came a booming voice from nearby.

Slater, Otunga and Gabriel scattered like roaches and disappeared through separate doors. I started to sit up, but I was greeted by a large hand connected to an arm sleeve of tattoos.

"You dead yet, Cena?" Orton pondered me with a sideways glance.

I took his hand and let him pull me to my feet, replying, "It takes more than those three punks to kill me."

"I'll believe it," Orton said with a nod.

My right hip felt like it was on fire. The guys always managed to hit me in places where the bruises wouldn't show on live TV. I pressed my fist against the injured area and winced in pain. Orton was still watching me, but he didn't say a word.

Almost everyone believed that my servitude to Wade was just an entertaining storyline. Very few people knew the truth: Wade had found a way to gain an advantage over McMahon and the RAW general manager. I couldn't be sure exactly what he had done, but my initiation into the Nexus, and my forced servitude to Wade was not a story.

_It was real, and Randy knew it._

"I've got to get to the stage. Wade will want me at ringside," I started to leave.

"Hey, Cena," Orton nodded at me.

I stopped and turned to face him. I could only hope he would say something that I could respond to easily.

"Let Wade know I want to talk to him later on tonight," Orton said.

Caught by surprise, it took me a moment to answer, "Yeah, I'll let him know."

Orton smiled and turned to walk away. I watched him leave, wondering what he would possibly have to say to someone like Wade.

* * *

><p>It was late. Wade was downing his third pint in the hot tub, while the rest of the Nexus sat on the patio chairs by poolside and whistled at any female they could see, no matter if she was within range to hear them or not.<p>

We were staying at a five star hotel, and I was surprised that we had not been asked to return to our rooms yet. Morrison and R-Truth had already left, along with Eve and Kelly Kelly after Health Slater refused to stop calling the girls Eye-boobs. I still couldn't figure out what that meant. Even Goldust shook his head at us on his way to the rec room. It was quickly becoming obvious that my status with the Nexus meant total alienation from the other Superstars and Divas.

"Hey, Cena, look at this," Slater stuck his hand in the pool like he was grabbing something, then he pulled his hand back out and flipped me off.

The other guys laughed hysterically. Wade almost choked on his drink. I just stared at him.

Randy suddenly appeared through the front entrance to the pool. He was dressed in jeans and a t-shirt, looking as casual as any well toned athlete trying to blend in with the public. The Nexus grew quiet and stared him down as Randy wandered over to Wade and I. The room was tensely silent as Wade sobered up for a moment and asked, "What do you want, Third Place?"

Orton clenched his jaw. Wade's nickname was meant to point out Orton's position as a third generation wrestler. What should've been an honor had become a frequent joke amongst Wade and Nexus. They saw it terms of rank instead of heritage.

I braced myself for a fight. Wade smiled wryly, gladly welcoming it. Orton was quiet for a moment longer, then he asked, "Could I talk to you in private, please?"

Again, things were tense, but for a different reason. Orton was being completely out of character. Wade stood up slowly, never taking his eyes away from Orton. He signaled to the others, telling them, "Leave."

The Nexus seemed temporarily stunned. I gave them a nod to go and they started moving. Wade still kept his eyes locked with Orton as he said to me, "Make sure no one comes in and disturbs us, Cena."

I was up and moving as fast as the words were said. The Nexus dissipated to their individual rooms while I paced the hallway. The seconds seemed to move slowly, turning into minutes, then half an hour.

_What's going on in there?_

I was beginning to worry. Had Wade done something to Orton? Had Orton done something to Wade? Had they both killed each other in a fit of rage? Better yet, could they be conspiring together?

The suspense was killing me. I had to know. I quietly made my way around the pool house to the side door. It was mostly shrouded by bushes and the night made it almost impossible to see me as I crouched down, opened the door slightly and put my senses on full alert.

"...Cena into this?" Orton was still standing as he asked Wade a question.

Wade was now in one of the patio chairs, still nursing the bottom of his pint. He chuckled slightly and replied, "What's it to you, O? Since when did you become Cena's little watchdog?"

Orton ignored Wade's word games, but continued, "You're treating Cena unfairly and without due cause. He's doing everything you ask and yet you and your boys continue to punish him."

Wade laughed out loud. Orton narrowed his eyes. Wade put his hands up in mock defeat, replying, "I just can't believe you actually used the phrase 'due cause.'"

Orton clicked his tongue, asking, "Do you really think I'm joking with you, here?"

Wade's expression went serious. He stood up and closed the gap between himself and Orton, saying strictly, "No, Third Place, I don't think you're joking. In fact, if I didn't know better, I'd say you've got your packet out for 'em."

British slang had become required research since I started spending time with Wade. I remembered packet being a reference to a lot of money...as well as male genitals.

I expected Orton to start pounding Wade into the ground for even considering making such a reference. Instead, the unexpected happened: Orton broke his gaze from Wade and looked away.

It was only for a second, but it was enough. Wade's eyes grew wide like a firecracker had gone off in his brain. He blurted out, "You have a thing for Cena?"

Orton had his hand around Wade's throat faster than I could blink. I couldn't tell if it was Randy's sudden movements or the booze, but Wade stumbled back into the patio chair, watching Orton with a shocked expression. Orton leaned in and lingered for a moment before he said in the coldest tone I had ever heard, "If anyone touches Cena again, whether it be you or your Nexus goons, I will hold you personally responsible."

Locking eyes with Wade, Orton finished with, "The RKO is a very meticulous move. If I were just a fraction off when using it on somebody, I could easily break their neck."

Smoothly, Orton let go of Wade's neck and backed away, turning to leave only when he was a safe distance away. Wade just sat there, dumbfounded in the patio chair, the rest of his pint in a puddle beside him.

I quietly closed the door and stood up, taking careful steps back to the hallway and to my room. I could barely process what I had just seen, nor could I make sense of what it meant.

_Orton has feelings for me. _

Surprisingly, it came as a comfort. I closed the door to my room and sat down on my bed, thinking it over, wondering what I would do with this revelation.

Then, a rush of dread came over me.

_Orton has feelings for me...and Wade knows about it._

* * *

><p>Author's End Notes: For those who may be confused, Nexus consists of a few guys that have since changed their namesaltered their egos or whatever it is they do these days to stay relevant. Obviously, Wade is still Wade, whereas I believe Otunga is no longer on the roster (last I remember him, he was an assistant to one of the pointless RAW managers and he walked around wearing Ivy League clothes and toting a giant coffee mug...'cause everyone knows that coffee mugs means you're smart...I guess). Justin Gabriel kept his name but last I heard he's also off the roster. Something about a major injury or whatnot (though I personally believe it's a conspiracy within WWE that almost all high-flying wrestlers were let go around the same time). Heath Slater was part of the One-Man-Band and then the Three-Man-Band and some other things (I think there was a Corre in there, too, a name that the other roster members claimed Heath was responsible for misspelling when he was sent out to get it trademarked). I think Heath was recently let go. Husky turned into Bray Wyatt, believe it or not. Michael McGillicutty is like, Axel Rose or Jamie Lee Curtis or some shit like that, now ( I honestly don't care because he comes across as a pro in the face but he shows very little talent in the ring). Uh...oh yeah, Skip is now Ryback and Michael Tarver eventually moved on to wrestle in Japan. I think that's it._  
><em>


	2. About Orton

2:

"Come here, Cena, I have something to say to you," Wade said.

I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath.

_He's going to tell me about Orton._

"Yeah?" I asked nonchalantly.

Wade was staring out the window of the Seattle arena, looking at the already building lines of people coming to see the event scheduled for later that night. I wasn't scheduled to wrestle, but Wade had a match with John Morrison, and although the event was not going to be a televised one, the tickets sold out faster than anticipated. Usually things like that got me hyped up, but not today. Not when Wade was taking his time to respond to me.

He continued staring out the window for several more seconds, as if the lines of people were far more interesting than whatever he had to say to me. I was almost ready to ask him what he wanted when he turned to me and said, "I've made a decision that is going to affect you."

_I was wrong. He's not going to tell me about Orton, he's going to tell everyone._

My heart started pounding. I tried to keep from looking guilty as I asked, "What are you talking about?"

Wade turned back to the window again. I sighed with frustration and asked, "Wade?"

"Oh, right, yeah," he turned to face me again and explained, "I think I'm going to hire Michael McGillicutty and Husky Harris to join the Nexus. Since you're working for us, I want you to extend your duties to them as well."

_That was it. That's what he made me wait for. What the fuck?_

I nodded, replying, "Right, I'll be sure and take note of that."

Wade tapped my shoulder before I could leave and mentioned, "I want you to take all the boys out today. Get them some fresh air."

I shrugged, asking, "What could we do?"

He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wad of cash. He handed it to me as he replied, "I don't know, something American. Now, get out of my sight."

I took the cash and walked off, still stunned that Wade had said nothing about last night. I could have been relieved, but I wasn't.

_Now I would have to wait for him to tell me._

* * *

><p>Stuck. In a limo. With The Nexus.<p>

_Shitty McShit Fuck._

Otunga couldn't stop climbing up through the sunroof and screaming at the top of his lungs. Cars recognized him and honked as they zoomed past. Slater was going through the mini bar and chucking complimentary cashews at me while Gabriel, McGillicutty and Harris were comparing ringtones on their cell phones. I had the window seat, which would've been nice if Otunga wasn't elbowing me in the shoulder every time he got back down from the sunroof.

"Hey, Cena, how many times do you think I can beat Santino?" Otunga asked me randomly.

"I don't know...never," I answered.

Otunga gave me his usual stink-eye look and retorted, "You're just jealous because I'm so damn good at what I do!"

_What you do is detail your hairstyle with alternative advertising. _

He added with a snort, "I don't care what you say. I'm awesome."

McGillicutty laughed at Otunga, asking sarcastically, "Whatever you say, Miz!"

The other guys laughed, making Otunga glare at them resentfully.

"Where are we going, anyway?" Gabriel asked, looking around like he could somehow find where we were going.

"Just up the ramp," I nodded ahead.

Slater scoffed, his breath smelling like nuts and alcohol as he said, "This is gonna be a shit party."

"You want to go to Wendy's instead?" McGillicutty asked, making everyone laugh.

I smiled, but Slater glared at me so I looked away, pretending like I didn't hear the joke that referenced the nickname I gave to Slater. The limo pulled around the ramp and parked in front of the Paint Pit, a paint ball stage where I planned to let the guys vent their frustrations.

_Maybe this would exhaust them from venting on me._

We all went inside and grabbed our gear. Otunga inspected the color of paint balls in my gun several times, as if preparing himself to tackle me if any of that particular color ended up on his clothes. I wasn't planning on shooting him, but if the opportunity came up...

"I'm taking Otunga," Slater started the team pick.

"I'll take McGillicutty and Harris," Gabriel mentioned.

I waited for someone to say my name. The guys continued to put on their gear as if I wasn't there.

"What about me? Anyone want me on their team?" I asked, mocking distress.

"You're on your own, Cena," Slater said coldly.

No one objected. I stood there, dumbfounded.

"So I'm just by myself? Me against all of you?" I asked, drawing a circle in the air with my finger.

"More like you're our whipping boy, Cena," Otunga pointed out, making all the guys laugh at once.

I raised a brow, asking, "You mean you all think I'm going to just lye down and take your hits?"

McGillicutty answered easily, "We don't want you to just lye down, Cena. You've got to at least act like you're trying to get away. Otherwise, it's just stupid."

I couldn't believe it. These guys were seriously thinking that I was going to let them play target practice with me. I opened my mouth to argue when I heard a familiar male voice shout from nearby, "I paid with a Benjamin and I want exact change back, bitch!"

Teddy DiBiase, known to the wrestling legends as Junior, was noisily heckling with the man in the Paint Pit stand, while Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton were nearby, inspecting a set of gear.

_Randy was here._

I hadn't stopped thinking about him since last night. I wasn't sure how it would feel to see him again, and it was an unexpected but pleasant surprise. I smiled a little just as he looked up, but his gaze didn't set on mine. Instead, he was looking past me, and his expression was disturbed. I assumed Otunga and Slater were probably doing something rude behind me.

Rhodes nodded at us and shouted, "Well, if it isn't my NXT rookie and his band of brats, The Plexus!"

"It's The Nexus," Otunga corrected him snidely.

"That's what I said," Rhodes replied arrogantly.

_Sons of legends are so damn cocky, but if it's directed at Nexus members, I don't care._

DiBiase came up behind Rhodes and Orton, still counting out his change. Rhodes looked at him and mentioned, "What the hell, Teddy! You didn't have to harass the guy!"

Stashing his money in his pocket, DiBiase pointed out, "Hey, I may be rich but I don't like to just throw money away."

Otunga patted his gun and said, "Let's get moving. Hundred bucks says I clip Cena first."

The Nexus members laughed. I glanced at Orton, and I could see his jaw muscles constricting.

Rhodes broke in with, "Hundred bucks says I get _you_ first, Otunga! Maybe I'll even go for the rest of The Sex-us."

"It's Nexus, and you're on!" Otunga countered loudly.

"I've got a hundred for DiBiase," Harris called out.

"Two hundred says I take out Harris and McGillicutty in two shots," DiBiase countered.

"I'm taking Cena for a hundred," Gabriel said.

Orton suddenly broke in with, "Three hundred says I take you out before you get to Cena, Gabriel."

There was a moment of stunned silence. Gabriel nodded timidly and replied, "Yeah, yeah, you're on, then."

Orton smiled wryly and lifted his gun, filled with silver colored paint balls, to rest on his shoulder. I hadn't noticed how rarely he smiled until that moment. He looked really good.

Rhodes waved his paint ball gun in the air and shouted, "Let's get a move on, Tex-us! Anyone who clips my face is going down!"

"It's NEXUS!" Otunga yelled.

Rhodes ignored him and disappeared behind a foam wall. I took off for a series of obstacles and dove underneath them before the Nexus had time to realize where I was. I took my time, using my elbows to scoot along like a soldier in the middle of a heated battle.

_In some ways, that's kind of what it was._

"Cena! Cena, where the fuck are you?" Slater called out suddenly.

I didn't dare respond to him. There was a loud snap and a paint ball gun fired several times. Some voiced shouted angrily, then it was silent again.

I scooted my way underneath a foam rectangle and peeked out into a clearing. I spotted Gabriel behind a foam wall, but he was looking away from me, anticipating something ahead of him.

Taking my chance, I aimed my paint ball gun and fired.

I got him between the shoulder blades. Gabriel tried to turn his head to see where he had been hit, then looked around frantically for the source. I kept myself carefully hidden until Gabriel sighed with frustration and turned off to leave the field.

"Cena? Cena, where are you?" Slater taunted me from somewhere nearby.

I couldn't see him. I wasn't even sure where his voice was coming from with all the obstacles in the field absorbing or echoing the sound. I crawled out of the rectangle and rushed across the clearing to another series of obstacles that were more safely positioned.

"Cena! Come out, come out, Champ! We want to play!" Otunga's voice called out.

I took a moment to debate my position. If I stayed in hiding long enough, I might be able to keep myself from getting hit by any members of the Nexus, but I wasn't sure what game Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase were playing. I doubted Orton had plans to shoot me.

_Then again, he wasn't called the Apex Predator for nothing._

A whistle in the distance. Probably Otunga. I held my gun closer to me, keeping my finger on the trigger, and waited.

Silence. A minute, then five minutes. Nothing.

Maybe I was wrong. I glanced around, but there was no one in sight. They must've moved on.

I stood up and surveyed my surroundings. Still nothing. I was in the clear.

Otunga charged me from out of nowhere, slamming into my right shoulder and sending me into the ground. I lost my paint ball gun, and the next thing I knew, I could feel blood dripping from my cheek.

I sat up, touching my face to feel the damage. It wasn't bad, but it was painful. I turned to yell at Otunga, but instead, I found Slater standing over me with his paint ball gun pointed just under my right eye.

_This was going to hurt like hell._

THWAP!

"Oh FUCK!" Slater grabbed his left ear and fell to his knees in pain.

I blinked. I realized Slater hadn't shot me, but someone had shot him in the back of his ear. Paint seeped through his fingers as he held his ear, looking like he was bleeding silver.

_Silver. That was Orton's gun. _

Dozens of paint balls came flying at once. Otunga was just getting up after he had tackled me, and most of the paint balls hit him in the backside. Slater was getting pummeled as well. McGillicutty and Harris appeared from behind some obstacles, but they were slammed with paint balls as well. After the flurry finished, I realized every remaining member of Nexus but me was covered in blue and yellow paint.

Rhodes and DiBiase appeared from behind a foam wall and held up their paint ball guns, loaded with blue and yellow paint. Orton came out from a foam overhang on the other side and glanced at me as if to survey if any damage had been done to me, then he focused his intent on Slater, looking as if he were thinking about causing Slater some real pain.

"I am your God now," Rhodes joked with a confident smile.

I could still feel the blood on my cheek. I stood up slowly, feeling new pain in addition to the bruising on my hip that still held from my Nexus beating the night before. I didn't look at Orton, but I could feel him watching me. Slater got up at nearly the same time and said, "Fuck, I think my ear is bleeding."

"Oh, go cry to your mommy, then," DiBiase shooed him with his hand.

"Whatever," Slater started to leave.

DiBiase called out, "Hold up! You owe us some big money!"

Slater scoffed and replied, "Cena'll pay it."

I said aloud, "What? I don't have bet money!"

"Wade gave you some money," Harris tried to argue.

I corrected him, "Yeah, for gas and lunch and our entrance fee for here, but not for bet payouts."

Slater shouted angrily, "God, Cena! You are fuckin' useless!"

I saw Orton open his mouth like he was about to counter, but I didn't want things to go from bad to worse, so I shouted at Slater, "What, do you want me to sell my ass on the street corner for some extra cash? I think I could make a few hundred if I shake it."

Rhodes and DiBiase busted out laughing. Slater gave me the finger and stormed off, the rest of The Nexus following after him. I shrugged and turned to look at Orton.

He was smiling humorously.

* * *

><p>I took my time getting back to turn in my gear. I checked the damage to my cheek in the bathroom mirror, cleaning it up so that it looked like nothing more than a faint scratch. There was a food parlor built into the front office, and I checked it out when I went inside, catching sight of Orton, Rhodes and DiBiase sitting at a table and enjoying a round of beers. I gave them a quick nod, then I glanced around, but I saw no sign of The Nexus.<p>

There was a scrawny teenage boy waiting for me when I reached the counter. I handed him my gear and asked, "Did some athletic ugly looking guys drop off their gear a little while ago?"

The kid smiled with a mouth full of braces and replied, "Yeah, they went outside."

I nodded and turned to leave, then the kid asked, "Hey, are you John Cena?"

Turning back to face him, I smiled and answered, "Yes, I am."

He beamed ecstatically, and I felt a rush of esteem that I hadn't felt since losing my match to Wade at Hell in A Cell.

_My fans were still out there._

He asked me timidly, "Hey, could you like...I mean...get me Wade Barrett's autograph?"

_...and my boost is gone._

I swallowed hard and replied, "Well, I don't carry his autograph around, but maybe I could get you something else."

"Really?" the kid gasped.

I reached into my pockets and pulled out a handful of things, searching them for something I could give away. I pulled out a wrapper filled with chewed gum and said, "Wade put this in my gym bag this morning. I meant to throw it away, but if you want it..."

I held it out to him, thinking he would turn it down. Instead, he lunged at it like a squirrel on drugs and eagerly took it from me, surveying it between his hands like it was precious.

"Right. I'll be going now," I walked away quickly.

Once outside, I walked toward the parking space where the limo had stopped. I noticed almost immediately that the limo wasn't there. I glanced around the parking lot, but I could see no sign of anything that remotely looked like a limo. It didn't take me long to realize I had been ditched.

_Ditched at a paint ball game. I feel like I'm in high school._

I quietly walked back into the front office. Orton looked up at me, and I saw from his expression that he already knew what had happened. I wandered over to him, feeling kind of sheepish. DiBiase and Rhodes both perked up when I came near, so I tried to shake off my disgrace.

"Why the long face, Cena?" Orton asked, pretending he didn't know.

"Looks like Nexus ditched me," I answered with a shrug.

"You want a ride back to the arena?" Orton asked, still acting casual.

Rhodes put up his hands and argued, "I don't have room in my truck for one more!"

Orton narrowed his eyes at Rhodes and replied, "Then you get to be the one to tell McMahon why we left one of his main events stranded."

Rhodes swallowed hard and answered grudgingly, "Fine. He can come."

Orton pulled out a chair from the table and said, "Sit."

I did, feeling relaxed for the first time all day. Orton asked me once I was seated, "You want a beer?"

"No, I'm good," I shook my head.

Orton turned to Rhodes anyway and said, "Turn on the charm."

Rhodes turned around to face the female waitress and asked aloud, "Excuse me, gorgeous, but we'd like another round of drinks."

He finished his sentence with his signature smile, and the waitress blushed, giggling as she quickly went to grab more beers. DiBiase elbowed me in the arm and said, "Hey, your Nexus buddies didn't pay me their bets. What do you have on you, Cena?"

Orton groaned with frustration and said, "Damn, Teddy. You sound like a cheap whore."

Rhodes burst into a fit of laughter. I laughed myself, always a fan of Orton's extremely dry sense of humor and his straight faced jokes. DiBiase leaned back and stated, "Hey, I resent that remark! If I were a whore, I sure as hell wouldn't be cheap!"

That only made Rhodes laugh harder.

* * *

><p>When we got back to the arena, Rhodes and DiBiase took off, leaving me alone with Orton. He didn't say a word as we walked together down the hallway. It was a comfortable silence, unlike the usual constant noise and horseplay I got when I walked with The Nexus. I started to turn off toward the locker room, but I stopped dead in my tracks when I looked up and saw Wade coming my way.<p>

_Oh shit, he looks pissed._

"Where the hell have you been?" Wade yelled before I could say anything.

I put up my hands in defeat, answering, "The Nexus ditched me. I had to hitch a ride back."

Wade towered over me, putting his balled fists on his hips as he countered in his snide British tone, "Really? See, the way I heard it, you ditched Nexus!"

"What? Are you fu-" I started.

Wade came nose-to-nose with me and finished threateningly, "I don't think you want to finish tha' sentence, Cena."

Randy was by my side in a moment's notice. He put his palm on Wade's chest and shoved him backward. Wade kept his balance, but looked at Orton with a stunned expression. Randy stated boldly, "Cena is telling the truth. I saw The Nexus leave without him."

Wade blinked, looking as if he was unsure how to react to Orton. Then, he quickly collected himself and displayed a cocky smile, replying, "How convenient that you were there for everything, Orton. Same grounds, same game, same moment that Cena needs someone to back his story."

Orton clenched his fists. I expected Wade to do the same, but he didn't. Instead, he turned on his heel to leave, saying over his shoulder, "Let's go, Cena! William Regal has me out an' we're already late!"

I looked at Randy. He looked back at me with a sympathetic expression, then he reluctantly nodded for me to go on. I took my leave, glancing back to see if he might try to follow.

Randy stayed where he was, but his fists were still clenched.


	3. Starting to Break

3:

"Come on, Cena! Let's see some real fisticuffs!" Wade yelled.

He was sitting next to the wrestling ring, surrounded by Nexus members and getting some good laughs out of my in-ring capabilities. It was still early, so the arena was empty save for us and some crew members that were still working on the lighting and sound. I was taking the time to try out a few new moves, but Wade had taken it upon himself to mentor me while I worked, going so far as to volunteer Slater to be my opponent.

"Cena, are you even paying attention?" Wade complained even before I had made my next move.

I tried to bring my arm under Slater to pull him over my shoulder, but he pulled away and took a dive for my knees. I argued with him, "Stop trying to take me out! I'm trying to use a new move on you!"

He got up, but when I reached for him again, he pulled away from me and tried to put me in an arm-lock.

Wade clapped, shouting, "Alright! Tha' was what I came out to see!"

I broke away from Slater and told Wade, "We're not supposed to be fighting! I'm working on a new move!"

Wade just smiled at me mockingly. He didn't care what we were supposed to be doing. He just wanted to see what I would do about it.

Slater suddenly grabbed me around the waist and suplexed me into the mat. I rolled away from him and stood up to leave the ring, saying, "I'm done with this."

"Oi! I didn't say you could leave!" Wade warned me.

I stopped in my tracks and turned to face him. Wade climbed into the ring and motioned for Slater to leave. Once Slater was out, Wade pointed at me and said, "You should see how real bare knuckle fighters have a go."

Wade's training in his home country was not news to me, but he had never talked about using it until now.

"Are you serious?" I asked.

Wade came close to me and put up his fists. The Nexus stood up and surrounded three sides of the ring for a better view. I put my hands on my hips and scoffed, saying, "I'm not gonna fight you."

Bringing up his right fist, Wade hit me just above my left eye, sending me stumbling backward a few steps.

I shook my head and tried to gather my thoughts. Had he just hit me? I wasn't about to let him try it again.

Getting into position, I put my own fists up. Wade tried for me again but I ducked out of the way, trying a blow of my own. He took a step back, missing my blow, but his eyes widened like he hadn't expected me to catch on so fast. I smiled, waiting for his next strike.

Wade took the next shot and caught me in the shoulder as I was moving out of the way. I threw two more punches and hit Wade in the right ear. He rubbed it for a second, then moved on like I hadn't even touched him. The Nexus murmured encouragements toward Wade, but I didn't hear them say a word to me.

_Thanks for sending support my way, guys._

I glanced over to the top of the ramp, and I saw Eve and R-Truth watching us. It was just enough of a distraction for Wade to land one on my right cheekbone, making me fall back against the ring ropes.

"Yeah, Wade!" Slater clapped.

"That was a blow!" Otunga added.

I held onto my cheekbone, acting like it hurt worse than it did, so I could glance over at Eve and R-Truth again. I could still see Eve, but it looked like R-Truth had left to get reinforcements. Eve folded her arms and gave me a look as if to ask, "Do you need some help?"

I didn't have time to express an answer to her. Wade suddenly threw another punch, and I barely had time to get out of the way. Husky Harris grabbed my ankle in an attempt to trip me, but I pulled out of his grasp and ducked just in time to miss another one of Wade's blows.

The ramp started filling up with other Superstars. Even the crew had stopped to watch what was going on. Wade kept trying to throw heavy blows, but I managed to be quick enough to move out of the way. I was getting good at avoiding him, when he did a double right hook and managed to knock me in the eye again.

I stumbled back, trying to gather myself. I could hear the Superstars whispering, and I knew that things were about to get out of hand. I put up my hands in defeat and said, "Alright, I'm done."

"Wha?" Wade countered.

"I'm out," I started to leave the ring.

"Are you chicken-shit, Cena?" Wade taunted me.

I ignored him. I started climbing through the ropes when Wade shouted at me, "Cena, I order you to get back in here and finish this!"

I looked up at the ramp full of Superstars. They were all looking back at me with the same expression.

_They knew Wade wasn't messing around. I knew it, too._

Suddenly, Randy appeared at the top of the ramp. He was dressed in a casual black t-shirt and jeans, but he looked like he was ready to run into the ring if he needed to. He folded his arms and locked eyes with me, asking wordlessly if I was alright.

I nodded and moved back into the ring, telling Wade, "Alright, let's finish it."

He put up his fists, and I put up mine. We exchanged blows, missing each other every time. The Nexus continued to cheer Wade on, while a few Superstars and Divas called out encouragement for me. I heard Ted say something like, "Show me my money's worth!"

Wade narrowed his eyes like he was trying to understand what Ted said, and I took the moment to throw a hook right at his lower jaw.

Stumbling back, Wade fell against the ring ropes and grabbed his face. I stood there, momentarily shocked that I had really hit him. I glanced over at Orton, but he wasn't at the top of the ramp anymore. I caught sight of him moving through the crowd to get to the ring. I looked back and realized why: The Nexus was trying to climb into the ring to get to me.

"Wait! Wait! It was an accident!" I shouted.

Wade put out his free hand to stop them, and every Nexus member froze. There were several seconds of stone silence, then I made my way closer to Wade, asking him, "Wade? You alright?"

Without warning, Wade suddenly launched a shot under my chin. He hit me hard enough that I accidentally bit my tongue as my teeth smashed together. Blood spurted out of my mouth and I stumbled backward. I didn't even know I was falling until the back of my head bounced off the mat. I blinked once, feeling the warm blood fill my mouth, then I slipped into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>I started opening my eyes, but everything was blurry. I blinked a few times, and the image of someone standing over me started to appear. I blinked a few more times, and the person started to come into focus. I tried to concentrate, but my head felt like it had been run over by a semi. When my sight finally began to focus, I saw a pierced lipped smile and a pair of big, penetrating eyes right in front of my face.<p>

"Whoa, Punk!" I sat up quickly, trying to move away from him.

He took a step back and replied, "What? I was trying to help!"

"I told you not to stand so close, Punk," Orton said, appearing on my other side.

I realized I was sitting on a table in one of the empty rooms of the arena. Randy put his hand on my shoulder and told me, "It's okay, Cena. Wade knocked you out and Punk was making sure you were alright."

"Yeah, I know some things about reviving a person," Punk smiled mysteriously.

_I'm not going to touch that one._

I pressed my forehead with my thumb. It hurt so bad, I wasn't sure if I would ever get my thoughts straight. Orton signaled for Punk to leave, and once he was gone, Orton took a glass of water from nearby and handed it to me, saying, "This should help wash the blood out of your mouth."

"Thanks," I said, barely realizing that my mouth did still taste like blood.

I drank down the water while Orton analyzed me with his gaze. I could never quite tell what he was thinking when he took on his deep expression. I finished my drink and asked, "So where's Wade?"

Randy folded his arms and sighed. I felt a tightening in my chest, wondering if Orton had decided to kill Wade while I was out. After a short silence, Orton replied, "He took off once you were down. Punk told me while we waited for you to come to that Wade has you scheduled for a match tonight...against me."

"Oh. Well that's...odd," I surmised.

Orton unfolded his arms and started pacing the room, saying with a hard tone, "He's just setting us up because he wants to put a rift between us."

"It's okay, I know that. I'm not upset," I started.

He continued to pace, continuing, "He thinks this is all just a game. I warned him about hurting you and he pulls this shit to make it all look like some big accident!"

"Orton?" I asked.

He went on, talking more to himself than to me, "I could have killed him in that ring after he knocked you out, but fucking Slater got in my fucking way, and then they all took off so they didn't have to fucking face me!"

"What do you think of me, Randy?" I asked.

He stopped, looking at me with confusion.

"What do you mean?" he asked.

I swallowed hard.

_The words were harder to speak than I thought they would be._

"What do you think of me? Do you think of me as a competitor? As a Superstar? As John Cena, the wrestler? As a friend?" I asked.

He looked away, the tension between us building. I let the silence in the room fill with my words, asking, "Randy, do you think of me as something more?"

He closed his eyes, his mind drifting off to someplace where I could never follow him. He let the silence linger, then he opened his eyes again and focused on me.

_Randy didn't have to say a word. It was written all over his face._

A loud knock at the door pulled us out of our thoughts. The door opened and Wade walked in. Orton started for him, but The Nexus appeared just behind Wade, completely outnumbering us. Wade put up his hands in defeat, saying, "I've come here to apologize to Cena."

"There's no need. We were just having a good old fashioned brawl," I said sarcastically.

Wade gave me an unappreciative glance, then he looked at Orton and asked, "Did Punk give you the word on tonight's match?"

"Yeah, we heard," Orton stated.

Wade turned his focus to me and went on, "Cena, I want you to make it look good with Orton, then I'm going to step in at the end and fiddle the match, so you two will be standin' there dumfounded when I make a surprise announcement."

"A surprise announcement?" I asked, confused.

"Don't worry, Cena. You'll like what I have to say," Wade smiled wryly.

_Yeah. Right._

* * *

><p>It was all like a blur.<p>

I was fighting Orton in the ring. We were throwing each other around, making it look good like Wade told me to. Orton was particularly agile throughout the match, pulling some of his best moves. He even did the RKO on me. I always hated the feeling of falling while he pulled me down, but I knew his signature move looked damn good to the fans.

_I couldn't expect anything less._

Then Wade intervened, disqualifying the match. Randy pretended to fight with him, The Nexus came in to stop him, and I fought them off. Then Wade took the mic and made his announcement. It should've been like any other Monday night surprise, but Wade said things I didn't expect.

He wanted me to be his referee at Survivor Series.

Referee in the match Wade was going to have against Orton.

A match for the WWE Championship.

If I let Wade lose, I'm fired.

But if I let Wade win...

"...relieved of any responsibility...to The Nexus..."

I dropped to the mat and put my face in my hands. I stood up and looked from The Nexus to Orton and back to The Nexus.

_This wasn't happening. This couldn't be happening._

I made my way backstage, expecting to see Wade and The Nexus there, but they were gone. I waited for Orton. It seemed to take forever for him to meet up with me.

He didn't say a word. I didn't know what to say. He started walking to the locker room, so I followed him. It felt like time had nearly stopped, like we were doomed to walk the hallways forever.

We made it to the locker room. Thankfully, no one was around. I stared at Orton, waiting for him to say something. He just stood there, staring at the floor.

Then suddenly, he started to break.

He picked up everything within his reach and threw it. Tables, chairs, clothes, gear. All of it hit the concrete walls. Then Orton started hitting the concrete walls, pounding it with his fists, screaming and cursing and kicking and writhing with pure and brutal rage.

I watched him, knowing there was nothing I could do or say to make him stop hurting himself. I hadn't realized I was biting my tongue again and opening up the wound from earlier until I tasted fresh blood in my mouth.

"Randy, stop," I said, but my words were barely audible.

He punched one of the lockers, making a dent in it, then he turned to face me.

Narrowing his eyes, he took on a predatory stare. He stormed toward me, and I just stood there, waiting for the hit.

He stopped within inches of me and took my face in his hands, mashing his lips against mine with a wrath I had never felt before. He pushed me against the wall, slipping his tongue into my mouth. He groaned when he tasted my blood, letting it spill into his mouth and swallowing it like it was an intoxicating drink.

I grabbed onto his wrists and squeezed them violently, but his palms continued to hold hard against my face, threatening to never let me go. It was hard to breath, it was hard to think, and it was hard to realize what was happening, but I gave into it, letting Randy take away the burden that had plagued me since I became Wade's whipping boy.

_Oh God, is this how it feels to be real? _

Randy's grip on me lessened after several minutes of intensity. He closed his lips and pulled away from mine slowly, but it felt like a part of me was being unceremoniously ripped away. I whispered to him, "Don't stop..."

Then I saw a man out of the corner of my eye.

Randy and I both turned to face him at the same time. It was Punk, and he was standing there, staring at us with a devoid expression. I didn't know Punk well enough to know if he was going to condemn us or help us.

Then, he smiled wickedly.

_I never wanted to know what someone was thinking so badly in my life._


	4. Additional Career Pursuits

4:

Randy was after Punk like a shot.

He grabbed Punk's throat and hurtled him into the wall, while Punk tried to fight him off, shouting, "No, no, no, no, no, no...GACK!"

_I think that last word was supposed to be stop._

The look in Orton's eyes was one of fury. He was ready to do whatever was necessary to shut Punk up for good. I stepped up beside them, saying, "Alright, let's just talk about this like adults."

Orton didn't even flinch. Punk looked at me with pleading eyes, his air slowly being constricted out of his lungs from Orton's severe grip.

_What could I say to make this better?_

In heated situations, I used humor because it helped me cope better. I took on a more sarcastic appeal and said, "Look, Orton, we can't kill him. We've got no trash bags to hide the remains, no easy exits, and I don't think we're getting past security."

Orton's viper-like eyes rolled in their sockets to look at me. He held his cold expression for a moment more, then he suddenly cracked a smile. He let go of Punk's throat just enough so Punk could choke in some air, and I breathed a sigh of relief.

Then Orton glared at Punk and said, "You're lucky Cena is taking this so lightly."

Punk sucked in another breath and replied, "I get it, I get it, alright! I know you're upset, but you can trust me! I'm not going to tell anyone!"

"How can we trust you?" I became serious, igniting Orton's inner protector to stare Punk down for signs of weakness.

Punk put up his hands in defeat and explained, "If I tell management that two of their headliners are doing each other backdoor doggy-style, there's going to be publicity and an investigation and all the negative shit that comes with a revelation like that, then they'll want a statement from me, and they'll investigate my background, and they'll probably bring up that time when I was in college..."

"Wait, wait, wait," Randy put up his hand to stop Punk's oddly turning rant, asking, "Did you just call my feelings for Cena 'backdoor doggy-style'?"

Punk swallowed hard, saying, "What? No, I didn't say...what? No! I don't care what you two are doing, you know? I was just...I don't know...guessing...okay, what?"

I could tell the situation was getting out of hand fast. I asked Punk, "How do we know we can trust you not to tell anyone?"

Shrugging, Punk answered, "I guess you don't."

Orton reached for Punk's throat again, so I backed him off by saying reasonably, "Randy, we have to just trust him. What are we gonna do? Give him a swirly and wedgies until he vows to remain silent?"

Punk pointed his finger at us, shouting, "Ha! Wedgies won't work because I'm not wearing any underwear!"

Both Orton and I stared at him. He mentioned almost to himself, "I've said too much."

Then Punk suddenly kicked Orton in the knee and ducked away from his grip, running for the door. I rushed after him, shouting, "Punk, come back!"

I ran out into the hallway, and caught sight of Punk rushing past the drink stands.

_Damn, he was fast._

He was easily going to outrun me, but I started after him anyway, shouting, "Punk, wait! Don't let it go like this!"

He rounded the corner, so I chased after him, turning just in time to see a baseball bat coming toward me.

It made contact with my left knee, sending me into a mid-air somersault before I hit the cement floor hard. I tried to catch my breath again as I saw a figure masked and dressed in black come to stand over me, lifting the baseball bat to make contact again.

I rolled out of the way just as the bat came crashing down and shattered when it impacted against the floor. I tried to get back to my feet, but my knee was still in pain and I stumbled back down again. I turned to face the figure, making my way backward as the figure stepped closer, holding the broken end of the baseball bat like a makeshift weapon.

"Hey you!" I heard Big Show's booming voice shout from down the hallway.

The figure and I both turned to face him. Big Show was coming up fast, so the figure turned and took off down the opposite path, disappearing like they already knew where they were going.

_Mental note: wrestlers were more rehearsed in arena layouts than anyone else._

"Cena, are you alright?" Big Show came over to help me up.

"Yeah, I'm fine. They just got me in the knee," I took Show's hand for support in getting back to my feet.

"John!" Randy shouted from down the hallway.

_He's never said my first name like that before. Like it meant something to him. Like I meant something to him. _

"I'm okay, I'm okay," I told Orton as he came close.

Orton helped me stand up straight, and analyzed me with his eyes. I could see the intense emotion there, but Orton hid it instantly when Big Show got close, asking, "Do you know who attacked you, Cena?"

"Attacked?" Orton became confused.

I explained, "I was coming around the corner and someone dressed all in black hit me in the knee with a bat. They tried to hit me again but I got out of the way, then Big Show came and they took off."

Orton looked around suspiciously, then he stopped cold when he saw the splintered remains of the baseball bat on the floor where the attacker had missed me. Orton clenched his fists so hard, I could see drops of blood seeping through his fingers where his nails had dug too far into his skin.

Big Show took my attention away from Orton when he asked, "Could it have been a crazed fan? Or maybe another wrestler?"

"I don't know, it could've been anybody," I shrugged.

"I'm going to call Vince. He should know about this," Big Show said, reaching into his pocket for his cell phone.

I glanced back at Randy, but he had his eyes closed, lost in that place inside of his head again.

_Where is he now?_

* * *

><p>TEST MESSAGE FROM: WADE BAREBUTT<p>

RECEIVED: 10:45AM

WHERE R U CENA? LOST U ON 5TH. STATUS. NOW.

I stared at Wade's most recent text message, wondering how long I could wait to answer him before he texted me again. Probably not long, considering that he had been texting me every twenty seconds like clockwork since I decided to ride with Randy to the next event.

"What's he asking you now?" Orton asked, surveying the abandoned field around us as he took a bite of his sandwich, his left wrist still balancing on the steering wheel of his black truck.

He always took the black truck to events because it was beat up and simple looking, a great deterrent when we didn't have time for fan or publicity encounters. It proved not to be useful this time, since we were in the middle of Nebraska and we hadn't seen so much as a lizard and a series of tumbleweeds that liked to dart out in front of us at the last second.

"He wants to know where I am and what I'm doing, like always. He's totally pissed that I chose to ride with you, especially after he thought he had us pegged after his Survivor Series stipulation," I said.

Orton chuckled and asked, "So what's your reply?"

I answered jokingly, "I've run out of things to tell him. I think I'm going to try a detailed approach: I'm staring at an open field. I thought I saw a celebrity at the gas station we passed, but it was a homeless guy. I had a little gas in my lower intestine, but it passed so I think I'm okay now."

Randy burst into a loud, booming laugh. I was taken by surprise, never hearing him laugh out loud like that before. When he finished, I said more seriously, "Wade is really pissed about this, though."

"Well he'll have to live with it, because I'm not letting you out of my sight after last night," Orton replied.

"Do you think it will happen again?" I asked curiously.

"If it was someone in the Nexus like I think it was, then yes, it will," Orton stated.

My phone buzzed again with another text. Randy and I both groaned, then he asked, "Again? It's only been a few seconds!"

I answered passively, "Oh well, I'm not worried."

Orton narrowed his eyes at me incredulously. I explained, "Every second I have to spend with him just means I'm one second closer to spending time with you."

I looked at him, and for a moment, Randy looked legitimately touched by my words. Then he used his trademark ultra-dry sense of humor to tell me, "That is total sap, Cena."

I started laughing, and he did, too. Randy started his truck to head out onto the road again, telling me jokingly, "I think I'll take that and publish it. They'll call me Randy of the Romance and I'll make millions."

"Glad I could help in your additional career pursuits," I replied with a chuckle.

My phone buzzed again with yet another text. I opened it and sighed as I read it. Orton asked, "What?"

"He wants me to report to him right away when we get to the arena," I relayed.

"So much for seeing the sights," Orton joked morosely.

Randy put the truck in gear, then he looked at me and said, "Come here."

I leaned over and he took me by the back of my neck, pulling me even closer to him so he could give me a long, deliberate kiss. When he let go, I was left wanting more, but I knew that Wade would be timing my every second getting to the arena. Orton seemed to know it to, pulling out of the field as he said, "If Wade docks you even a second for being late, you tell him to come straight to me."

I smiled, asking only half-seriously, "Why is Wade afraid of you?"

Orton answered passively, "Guess I get under his skin."

I searched his expression for clues, but I couldn't tell for sure if Orton was hiding something from me or not.

* * *

><p>"I want coffee, Cena."<p>

_Wade's accent made it sound like he said, "Cay-fay." I could just tell him we don't make cay-fay in good ole' America, but that would be amusing, and The Wade doesn't like to be amused by The Cena. _

"The refreshment cart doesn't make coffee at night, especially this late," I said.

Wade stepped up more closely to me so he could tower over me, saying strongly, "Then go make some, errand boy."

I kept my glazed over expression. As long as I didn't show emotion, Wade couldn't tell if he was getting to me or not. He chuckled slightly and asked, "What? Are you a robot now, Cena? Do you take my orders and process them mechanically?"

His constant ridicule was starting to get on my nerves. I opened my mouth to retaliate when Slater walked in with Punk.

_Wait...what?_

I looked at Punk, then at Slater, then back at Punk again. Slater was laughing like Punk had just told him a great joke, then Slater saw me and became aloof, asking, "Shouldn't you be doing something productive for us, Cena?"

Punk put his hands in his pockets and acted like he wasn't listening. Wade interjected and asked Slater, "You and Punk ready for your tag match?"

"Tag match?" I asked aloud before I realized it.

Slater took on a cocky smile and answered, "Yeah, Cena. Looks like I'm going to be winning a title tonight and you're going to...well...whatever it is Wade tells you to do."

A hundred insults went through my mind at once. Instead of saying any of them, I replied simply, "Good luck to both you and Punk tonight, then."

Slater smiled, countering, "We don't need luck, Cena."

Clapping his hands together, Slater motioned for Punk to follow him out the door. I was glad to see them leave, but they weren't out yet when Otunga came in, telling us in a hurried voice, "Someone attacked Orton with a baseball bat!"

_My entire being just went numb._

"What?" I yelled.

Slater and Otunga both looked at me with confusion. Punk kept his gaze to the floor so as not to betray what he knew. Wade glanced at me, and realizing that I was about to blow the secret that he was still sure only he knew, Wade stepped in front of me to block me from the others as he asked, "Is Orton alrigh'?"

"Yeah, he just hurt his shoulder so he's out of his match against DiBiase tonight. Doc said he'll have to wear a sling but he'll be fine in a couple of days," Otunga informed us.

Wade signaled to everyone, saying, "Alrigh', well off with you, then."

They left, then Wade turned around to face me with a stone expression. I fought back the urge to pummel him like a caged animal, saying as calmly as possible, "I have to see him."

Wade blinked and took on a look of realization. For a single moment, I read on his face that he knew how much Randy and I meant to each other, and for a single moment, I thought he was going to set me free for one night to do as I pleased.

_Damn single moments. They give you too much hope._

The look faded and Wade told me in his usual tone, "You stay right here with me."

"But you don't need me!" I countered desperately.

"Tha's no' the point, Cena! You do as I say," Wade argued.

I couldn't take it anymore. I held out my arms, shouting at Wade, "What do you want from me?"

He answered in less than a heartbeat, "Your obedience!"

"Or what?" I really wanted to know.

Wade came nose-to-nose with me and said acidly, "Or I'll tear your world apart."

* * *

><p>I stopped thinking. I stopped caring. I just did whatever Wade said and forced myself not to think of Randy. Hours passed, but Wade was still having me fulfill orders long after the show ended, making it impossible for me to get checked into a room when we finally arrived at the hotel.<p>

Wade smirked when I realized that he had already booked his room, and he left me in the hotel lobby to come up with a place to spend the night. I managed to charm the desk clerk into telling me what room Randy was staying in, then I ventured up to find him. I saw that the door to his room was slightly open, but I knocked anyway, saying before anyone answered, "It's Cena."

"Door's open," Randy said, so I walked inside.

He was lying on his bed with his right arm in a sling, watching the widescreen in front of him while he held the remote in his good hand. I glanced at the screen and saw that he was watching a rerun of Sesame Street, and I lifted my brow in surprise.

"What? I like the celebrity guests," Randy admitted.

I closed the door and came over to him, saying, "I'm sorry I couldn't be here sooner. Are you okay?"

Orton frowned slightly and answered, "It doesn't matter what happened to me. Wade shouldn't be keeping you so late. It's fucking ridiculous."

I shook my head, insisting, "I still should've been there sooner."

Orton changed the subject, asking, "Did you have any time to get a room?"

"No. I think I'll sleep in your truck if you don't mind," I said.

Scoffing, Orton answered, "My bed is huge. You're sleeping in here with me."

Again, I was struck with surprise. Orton saw my cheeks reddening and brushed it off another dry joke, "I need someone to make fun of late night infomercials with me. It's stupid if I do it alone."

I went over to the other side of the bed and took off my shoes, then pulled off my shirt and unbuckled my jeans. Randy watched me the whole time, then when I was down to my boxers, he said thickly, "Take everything off."

"What?" I asked.

He let the silence linger a moment longer before he said, "I want to see all of you."

I felt something rise inside of me. It was unlike anything I had felt with someone before. I had spent most of my adult life wrestling half-naked in front of thousands of fans, and yet now, I felt truly raw and exposed.

I tugged on my boxers and let them slide to the floor, revealing me entirely in the flesh. Randy's eyes scanned over me slowly, as if he were taking mental pictures of every part of me, then he took on his faraway look again.

"What are you thinking? Am I too big?" I joked.

Randy came back to the present, chuckling a little before he took on a look of pain and cradled his arm. I pulled my boxers back up and climbed into bed to get to him, asking, "Are you alright?"

He let go of his arm and locked eyes with me, saying in a slightly pained tone, "I'm fine. I was just thinking about all the things I want to to do to you right now."

I smiled, replying, "We'll have time for that later. Why don't you just tell me some of it for now?"

I settled in to listen to him, but Randy said, "I would rather show you."

He reached for me with his good arm, but suddenly my phone buzzed in my jeans on the floor. I groaned with frustration and sat up to answer it while Randy muttered his own series of curses from the bed. I saw that it was a text message, but I didn't recognize the number. I opened it, and I read the same words that had struck me down hours earlier.

I'LL TEAR YOUR WORLD APART.


	5. I Saw The Viper

5:

I stood just outside of the doorway, watching Randy playing a game of poker with Mark Henry, John Morrison and Ted DiBiase to pass the time until RAW was set to air. They were all having so much fun, laughing and throwing cards around and playing for cheap poker chips that Ted bought from some random gift shop. No one was winning or losing, just boys being boys.

_God, I miss being a part of those times._

"Cena!" I heard Slater's voice call from down the hallway.

I jumped and peeked out to see where he was. I caught sight of Slater with Otunga looking around like they hadn't spotted me yet, so I turned on my heel and walked in on the guys playing poker, making them all stop to look up at me. Randy immediately tensed when he saw that I was on edge. Henry nodded at me and said, "Hey, Cena, come and play a round with us, man."

"No, I've really got to get going," I replied, fidgeting with the bill of my CeNation hat.

It was already too late. Slater and Otunga walked in, provoking Randy to stand up and take on a defensive stance. Regardless that Randy only had one good arm, Otunga froze, but Slater was intent on me, coming up and almost shoving his cell phone in my face as he shouted, "Do you know what this is, Cena?"

"Uh...a cell phone?" I answered sarcastically.

Morrison, DiBiase and Henry laughed. Slater glared at them, then he retorted loudly, "Do you think this is funny, Cena? You won't think it's so funny when I show Wade all the texts you've been sending me!"

_I'm pretty sure I'm being Punk'd again, because this is outrageous._

"What do you mean? I haven't been texting you," I argued.

Otunga snorted like he didn't believe my response. Slater held up his cell phone again and countered, "All the texts have been coming from your number, asshole!"

I glanced at Randy. He was balling his good fist and seething at Slater. I took the phone and looked at it. Sure enough, there were dozens of texts sent from my number. I only read the first two before Slater took his phone back, but it was obvious they were direct insults about Slater himself.

_The first one was actually pretty funny. I might use that later._

"Look, I don't know where these came from, but I didn't send you any of these texts," I said defensively.

Slater rolled his eyes, telling me, "Prove it, then. Let's see your phone!"

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and went to my texts, scrolling to the outbox section to prove once and for all that I...

"Well?" Slater asked boldly.

I stared at my outbox. It very clearly showed over a dozen texts sent to Slater's phone. I blinked a few times, but the texts didn't disappear. They were there, as clear as day.

_This can't be fucking true._

"Let me see it!" Slater grabbed my phone out of my hands to look.

He grinned wickedly when he saw the texts there. I shrugged, telling him honestly, "I have no idea how to explain it, but I didn't write those texts."

Slater threw my phone back at me, responding acidly, "Unless you have a witness who can vouch for you all morning when these texts were sent, then you're screwed."

I stared down at my phone, still displaying the sent texts. Images of this morning flooded my mind like a rapidly moving dream sequence.

_Waking up on top of Randy while he stroked the back of my neck with his fingers..._

_Helping Randy sit up and slowly getting him out of his shirt and sling so that he could move his injured shoulder around..._

_Listening to Randy groan with a mix of pleasure and pain while I massaged his shoulder..._

_Randy kissing me slowly, then more possessively..._

_Trying not to shudder while Randy ran his tongue along my chest, paying the most attention to my nipples..._

_Randy lying on his stomach on the edge of the bed while he watched me shower..._

"No, I was alone this morning," I lied, feeling a sense of relief that my memories would remain untainted.

"Well that's just shit-luck for you, Cena!" Slater pointed at me, turning on his heel to leave.

Henry was up before anyone knew what was happening. He grabbed Slater's cell phone and easily shoved Slater into the wall. Morrison came up beside me and took my phone, asking, "Could I see this real quick, Cena?"

I nodded and Morrison started tapping furiously on my phone. Otunga tried to grab Slater's phone from Henry, but Henry's massive strength threw Otunga aside like he was made of paper. Henry slammed Slater's cell phone into the wall, smashing it into a hundred tiny pieces. He smiled sheepishly at Slater and said, "Sorry, man. I'm so rough on things."

"Watch those butter fingers of yours, Henry," Randy pretended to scold him.

DiBiase added with a shrug, "Accidents happen."

Morrison handed my phone back to me, saying with mock remorse, "I'm so sorry, Cena! I pressed a wrong button and I erased all of your texts while somehow simultaneously reconfiguring your phone so that anything you've done with it in the last twenty-four hours is virtually untraceable."

He put up his hands and gave me a silly frown. I smiled a little, but lost it as soon as I saw how furious Slater looked. His face was as red as his hair as he pointed at the guys and shouted, "You think you're helping Cena out, but you're only making it worse for him, trust me!"

Slater rushed out the door, with Otunga following quickly after him. I looked at Randy, and he looked back at me with a knowing gaze.

_This was far from over._

* * *

><p>RAW came roaring to life later that evening.<p>

Randy made his speech and I made mine, and we pretended we hated each other.

I was made ref of the main event to give people a glimpse of what I might do at Survivor Series. Tensions were high as I made my informed decision, arguing with Randy about the tag, then arguing with Wade about a similar tag while Randy gave Otunga the RKO behind my back and took the win.

I walked behind the curtain and waited. Wade came back first, and gave me a confident smile, saying, "Don't get too accustomed to seeing Third Place win, Cena. Tha' won't happen at Survivor Series, and you're going to make certain of it."

Nodding my head just to appease him, I waited until Wade started walking, then I followed after him. We were almost to the middle of the hallway when Wade suddenly elbowed me in my right eye.

I fell against the wall, holding my eye as Wade spit at me, "Do you think I would never notice the games you're playing behin' my back, Cena?"

"What do you mean? I didn't do anything!" I argued.

Squaring his shoulders, Wade informed me, "Slater came to me with a very interestin' story earlier, one tha' he tried to prove, bu' the evidence was conveniently damaged."

"I told him and I'll tell you that I didn't do anything!" I shouted.

Wade's looked back down the hallway and his eyes widened. He told me, "Get moving."

"What?" I became confused.

Wade tried to shove me along. I glanced back and saw why: Randy was coming backstage.

"Get on, Cena!" Wade kept shoving me.

Randy came up on us too fast. Unaware at first, Randy started to tell me, "Cena, I wanted to talk to you about..."

I tried to act casual, but Randy only had to glance at my already swollen eye to know something wasn't right.

There was a moment of tense silence. I couldn't anticipate when the strike was coming. Randy spoke first, but his voice was calm as he looked at Wade and said, "I warned you about beating on John."

"I don' have time for threats, O! Cena, on the move!" Wade stated.

Wade took me by my referee shirt and pulled me away from Randy. I glanced back at him, but I didn't see Randy standing there anymore.

I saw the Viper in his truest form.

* * *

><p>"I thought Orton was supposed to be hurt! He fucking pulled me down into that RKO with damn near galactic force!" Otunga complained, rubbing the back of his neck.<p>

"The RKO always hurts. Don't act like you're the only one who's felt it," Gabriel countered.

"Yeah, Otunga! Quit crying like a little girl!" Slater shouted, making the Nexus members laugh.

I stood by the full length mirror of Wade's dressing room and saw my devoid reflection staring back at me. One of my signature moves was based on the concept of being invisible.

_I really wish I was invisible right now._

"All of you, back to the hotel! I'll be there in an hour!" Wade ordered them.

The Nexus filed out, and I started to go with them. Not surprisingly, Wade told me, "You stay here, Cena. We're not finished."

Slater shot me a devious look and took off out the door. I waited until all of Nexus were gone before I turned to face Wade, asking, "What else do you need?"

"Write down everythin' I say, Cena," Wade said.

I walked around him to get to my gym bag so I could pull out a pad and paper. I stopped short when I heard a loud BANG!

I whirled around just as the door to Wade's dressing room broke off its hinges and fell to one side. Randy stepped through the rubble and set his focus on Wade, barreling toward him like a runaway train.

_And I was about to watch the wreck._

Wade started to get up, but Orton kicked Wade back into his chair. I watched as Orton produced a belt that he had wrapped around his left wrist, then he wrapped it quickly around Wade's neck and started choking him.

_There was truly nothing Randy wouldn't do for me._

Wade's face started turning red. His eyes began to bulge and he was quickly losing consciousness. I knew that I had to do something. I shouted, "Randy, stop!"

He looked up at me and our eyes met. I pleaded with him wordlessly. He held his grip on Wade a second longer, then he suddenly let go and stepped back.

Wade choked in a breath. A part of me was relieved Randy hadn't just killed him.

_A bigger part of me wanted to choke Wade myself._

I waited for Wade to do something. Would he call for help? Would he try to attack Randy? Would he even be able to speak?

Wade gasped for a few more breaths. Then, he started to laugh.

I blinked with confusion, coming closer to him to make sure he hadn't lost his damn mind. He didn't look at me, but instead focused on Randy as he said with a more throaty tone, "Was tha' as good for you as it was for me?"

I looked at Orton, but his expression was as confused as mine was. Wade stood up, rubbing his injured neck as he fixed his gaze on me and said calmly, "Cena, I'm relieving you of your duties as a wrestler. You are now my full-time assistant."

"You can't do that! I'm on the roster! I'm one of the main events!" I yelled.

Wade came close to me and countered boldly, "Tha's where you're wrong, Cena. I decide wha' happens to you, and I'm tellin' you no ma'ches, no new moves, nothing for as long as I say."

Tears started to fill my eyes. Wade had finally hit a raw nerve with me. He had found a way to take away the biggest part of me without actually firing me on the spot.

"You can't do that, Wade! You fucking reinstate him now, or I'll..." Randy started.

Wade looked at me and added, "I heard your father was plannin' to see you this week, Cena. I think I'll make a few calls to le' him know tha' you'll be too busy workin' for me. Tha' way, he won' go through all the fuss."

_If I could still feel anything right now, I would probably collapse from the pain._

"Stop this, Wade," Randy said.

Wade turned to face him, asking condescendingly, "Or wha'? You'll give me more reason to take what away wha' matters to Cena?"

"Whatever you want to give it all back to John, I'll do it," Randy said.

I looked at him with a mix of shock and surprise. Wade half-smiled like he expected Randy to say that, then he said, "You already know wha' I wan' from you, Orton."

I began to feel the conversation leading into something that I wasn't supposed to hear. Randy didn't betray anything, but scoffed as he replied, "You know I would let you do it if I didn't think you would make more demands afterward, on and on until you thought you'd won over us all."

With a slight chuckle, Wade replied, "You really think I haven' been pullin' the strings all along, O? Who do you think made certain tha' you won the Championship?"

For the first time that I'd ever known him, Randy was at a loss for words.

Wade used his advantage to turn his attention on me, revealing everything at once, "Cena, I know tha' Randy has it hard for you an' he wants you 'appy. Trouble is, he wants to help you before my decision come Survivor Series, so I made him an offer. He let's me fuck 'im, an' in return, I free you from Nexus for certain."

It was all too much. I took off out the door and ran as far away as I could, stopping only when I couldn't run anymore. I dropped to my knees and brought up all that was left in my stomach, then I just collapsed on the group and closed my eyes.

_Maybe if I kept them closed long enough, I could wake up out of this nightmare._


	6. Bad Imitation

6:

I stayed away from the arena and the hotel all night. I couldn't face anyone. I called Vince to let him know I was okay and that I would be at the airport the next morning, and I told him to let everyone know I was alright.

_I doubted many people cared where I was at this point._

There was no use trying to sleep, so I just kept walking. I browsed a few stores that were open in the early hours, but kept moving when I realized that the only people out at night were drug dealers, young guys on condom runs and suspiciously smelling hobos.

When the morning came, I took the bus to the airport using some loose change I had in my pocket. To keep a low profile, I wore a hoodie over my CeNation t-shirt and I lowered my hat so I looked like any other well toned white boy. I was sitting behind a kid with a buzz cut, and he sat on his knees so he could look back at me with a big toothed smile.

I grinned back at him. He pointed at my CeNation hat, and I tipped it at him, making him laugh.

Then he did something I didn't expect. He lifted his hand and waved it in front of his face.

_Whether he was a wrestling fan or not, this kid knew exactly who I was._

Something rose within me. It stayed with me even as I got off the bus, waved good-bye to the kid and went into the airport. I thought Wade would be there to give me heat for bailing on him, but surprisingly, he was nowhere to be found.

Making my way through the crowd, I managed to get to a more secluded part of the airport, where I spotted Kane towering above everyone around him. I wandered his way, seeing that he was near most of the other Superstars and Divas from both rosters, all seated and waiting to board the next flight.

_Then I saw Randy._

He was reading the newspaper and hadn't noticed I was there. I felt a lurching in my stomach as Wade's words from the night before flooded my mind...

"_He let's me fuck 'im, an' in return, I free you from Nexus for certain."_

"Cena! So glad you could make it!" Slater mocked, jolting me out of my thoughts.

Randy immediately looked up, along with most of the other wrestlers. I focused only on Slater, who was with all of Nexus but Wade. I was inspired to remember the kid on the bus, and I casually walked over to the Nexus members, acting like I was in no trouble at all. Slater gave me a suspicious look, asking, "Why do you look so smug, Cena?"

I folded my arms and told him loud enough for the other wrestlers to hear, "I just came from your mom's house. She's hot! Quite the screamer, too."

I stuck my finger in my ear to emphasize my insult. Otunga and Nexus all busted into a fit of laughter. Some of the wrestlers did as well. I didn't dare look at Randy, because I knew that I would give away too much with my expression.

_I didn't have to look at Slater to know he was pissed._

"What did you say to me, Cena?" he seethed.

"You heard me! You probably heard her, too!" I replied shortly.

Otunga almost hit the floor laughing. Gabriel and Husky Harris shouted at once, "Oh!"

I looked at Slater. His face turned ten shades of red before he stormed over to me and pulled my hat off, shouting, "You can't wear your CeNation shit anymore, Cena!"

He walked over to a nearby garbage can and threw the hat out. I took hold of my hoodie and unzipped it slowly, revealing my CeNation t-shirt underneath, then I sat back and relaxed. Otunga's face was turning purple from laughter. The other Nexus members seemed to be enjoying the joke on Slater.

_This was more fun than I thought it would be._

Slater came back over to me and pointed at my shirt, shouting furiously, "You can't wear that!"

"Well it's my lucky shirt, so I'm keeping it on," I replied, still acting calm.

"TAKE IT OFF, CENA!" Slater shrieked.

"That's what your mom said!" I shouted back at him.

I was sure Otunga busted a rib trying to gasp for air. Slater turned on his heel and stormed off, probably on his way to find Wade to tattle on me like he always did. I stayed straight faced, keeping my gaze focused on the floor so I could keep up my newly fashioned recklessness.

Otunga finished laughing and slapped me on the shoulder, saying, "That was pretty damn funny, Cena. What's with the new attitude?"

I smiled a little as I looked up at him and said, "You know what, Otunga?"

"What?" he asked.

I leaned into him and replied, "Your ass is too big for your wrestling trunks. I can see your bubble butt sticking out every time you walk into the ring."

He narrowed his eyes with confusion, and I took the opportunity to head-butt him.

Otunga fell out of his chair and hit the floor. The Nexus stood up and surrounded me like a pack of wild dogs. Randy, Morrison, Kane and R-Truth stood up at the same time, ready to break up the potential fight. The Nexus was about to launch into me when Wade's voice called out to them from nearby, "Nobody moves!"

The Nexus froze and turned to face him. Wade was coming up fast, with Slater giving me an acidic look from just behind him. Wade looked down and saw Otunga, stopping just before he stepped on him. Wade asked him, "Wha' are you doin' on the floor?"

"Cena head-butted me for no damn reason!" Otunga argued.

Wade balled his fists and put them on his hips, locking eyes with me like he usually did when he was really angry.

Then, he started laughing.

Like real, hearty laughter. Not his usual mocking laughter.

I blinked a few times, sure that Wade was about to attack, but he continued to laugh. He even pointed at Otunga and laughed harder, adding insult to injury.

_Has Wade been replaced by a bad imitation?_

Nexus stood there and stared at him. Even Slater was dumfounded. Wade finished laughing and wagged his finger at me, saying, "Job's a good'un! Here I though' you were just the Joey of our gang, bu' this is classic!"

_I'm assuming he's using British slang to compliment me. _

Slater started yelling before any of us could figure out what was going on, "What? You mean you're letting him get away with pulling this shit!"

Wade went serious in less than a second, turning to face Slater with a warning expression as he asked rhetorically, "Are you arguing my actions?"

Quickly shaking his head, Slater took a few steps back and shut his mouth. Otunga started to get up, looking like he wanted to say a few words himself, but Wade shut us all down when he said, "Le's get movin'! Vince wants us all on the plane in five shakes or they're leavin' without us!"

He motioned for the Nexus and they started to follow him. I started walking as well, still unsure if I were dreaming or not. I glanced back and saw Randy watching me as I left with a questioning look on his face.

_I wasn't sure if I had any answers for him yet._

* * *

><p>Wade took the window seat when we got on the plane, then he promptly put on headphones and went to sleep. I kept a low profile for as long as I could, knowing Nexus was probably watching me from their seats, but when the plane started having turbulence, my stomach couldn't handle the sudden drops.<p>

_Whether it's Randy's RKO or a flight to England, the feeling of falling really gets to me._

I got up and inched my way toward the bathroom, hoping that Nexus wouldn't become suspicious and rouse Wade. I managed to make it to the stall and closed the door just in time to bring up the airplane food I ate moments before, grateful that I managed not to get it everywhere. I cleaned the mess out of the sink and splashed my face with water, deliberately choosing not to look at my own reflection afterward.

_I was truly afraid to see who would be looking back at me._

There was a soft knock at the door, then Randy's voice asked quietly from the other side, "You alright, John?"

My voice caught in my throat. I struggled to answer, "Uh...yeah...yeah, I'm alright."

There was a long pause, then Randy asked thickly, "Could I come in?"

My mind started racing. Last night's events threatened to overwhelm me again. I wanted nothing more than to tell Randy to come in, but after what Wade had said, I knew I wouldn't be able to hold it together if I did.

"I really...I really want to be alone right now," it physically hurt me to say those words to him.

There was another pause, then Randy said in a calm tone, "No problem. Look, you dropped something before getting on the plane, and I picked it up for you. I'll just leave it outside the door."

"Thanks," I said, my voice cracking despite my attempts to be calm.

I waited for several minutes in silence, then I slowly went to the door and opened it. Randy was gone, and I looked down to see what he had left for me. Tears formed in my eyes when I saw that it was my CeNation hat, still somewhat crumpled from when Slater took it off my head and tossed it into the trash at the airport.

_It wasn't just something of mine that Randy gave back to me. It was a message: don't forget what makes me John Cena._

Picking up the hat, I put it in my jacket and wandered back to my seat. I kept glancing inside my jacket for the rest of the flight, smiling every time I saw the hat there. I felt like I was smuggling a prized possession, and this time, I would make sure no one took it from me.

* * *

><p>I made it to England in one piece. I was surprised when Slater and Otunga didn't find some way to get me detained. They didn't even try to trip me when we went down several flights of stairs to get to our taxis, and they hardly shoved me going by to check into their hotel rooms. I was beginning to think that maybe my acts of rebellion had unintentionally garnered me the respect I had always been trying to achieve from Nexus.<p>

_And all I had to do was pretend I boned Slater's mother._

"Hey, Cena, can I talk to you for a second?" Daniel Bryan caught up with me alone in the hallway while I was making my way to my hotel room.

"Sure," I pointed to a more secluded part of the hallway and stopped to let him speak.

Bryan glanced around quickly, then he leaned in and whispered, "I wanted to warn you about something I overheard on the plane."

"What is it?" I asked curiously.

Letting out a long sigh, Bryan explained, "I was sitting across from Slater and Gabriel, and I heard them whispering about some guy that they knew who could bust people up for money. They saw me listening, so I made up this story that I was kind of upset I didn't get to stay with Nexus because I wanted to beat you up, and I would seriously consider hiring this guy just to show you what I wanted to do to you."

Bryan looked over his shoulder once more, then he leaned in and continued quietly, "After a while, they kind of bought my story, probably because of all the drinks they had on the plane. Anyway, they said they could easily hook me up with this guy because he had caused trouble with you before, and he knew he could beat you up and make it look like some accident."

The image of the black masked attacker popped into my mind. I asked him, "Did they give you a name?"

Shaking his head, Bryan answered, "No, but they gave me an alias and a number to a place in New York. They said it's not his real number, but he goes by the nickname Yellow."

I tried to think of any associations with yellow, but all that came to mind was the Nexus symbol. I asked, "Do you think this guy's for real? I mean, did they think you were lying and they're setting you up?"

"I don't know. I was going to call the number and see what happens. If you want, we could get the police involved and work together, maybe get this guy caught before he hurts you or anyone else," Bryan offered.

I felt in my gut that something wasn't right. I shook my head, telling him, "Don't call the number. Just sit tight until I can think about what to do."

"You need evidence to get this guy, Cena. At this point, he's just some single named nobody who Slater and Gabriel told me about during a drunken stupor," Bryan pointed out.

"I know, I know. I'll think of something," I told him.

Bryan nodded and we parted ways. I glanced around before going into my hotel room, making sure that The Nexus wasn't anywhere nearby. Once I opened the door, I tossed my bag aside and immediately closed the door again, locking it from the inside. I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking that finally I had a real chance at figuring out what was going on around here.

I didn't even feel the hit when I turned around.

The next thing I knew, I was on my hands and knees, and I felt a warm trickle of blood coming down the side of my head.

I tried to look up, but something hit me again, knocking me over on my back. It was soft enough not to be devastating, but hard enough to blur my vision.

There was a knock at my hotel room door. I heard Randy ask from the other side, "Cena, you in there?"

I opened my mouth to cry out, but something was crammed into it before I could get a word out.

"Cena? I really need to talk to you," Randy continued from a few feet away, completely unaware that I was in any kind of danger.

I tried to focus to see my attacker, but my vision was still blurry. I felt a stinging in my right arm, like a needle.

"John?" Randy asked, but I couldn't answer him.

My eyes rolled back into my head, and I passed out into unconsciousness.


	7. Only the Sun

7:

I felt something brushing against my face. It was soft. I opened my eyes, but they were startled shut again when I was hit by a blinding light.

_The sun. It's only the sun._

I put my hand up to shield myself and opened my eyes again. I sat up slowly, my body feeling sluggish and my stomach tender from the effects of whatever had been injected into me. I looked around carefully, unsure if I was alone or being watched by my captor, or captors, for that matter.

_No one. Nothing. I was in a field, in the middle of nowhere._

I should have been relieved, but I felt more unsettled than ever when I realized that I was alone, with no clue as to where I could possibly be.

Taking one step at a time, I got up and checked myself for any injuries. Besides a slight puncture wound where the needle went into my arm, I couldn't find anything. I even touched my head where I had felt blood coming down before I passed out, but it had scabbed over and felt like a minor cut at most.

Secondly, I checked my pockets to determine if anything had been taken. I had my wallet and my cell phone and some loose change when I went into my hotel room. I searched every pocket, but I couldn't find anything.

I sighed and looked around again. Growing up, I had learned survival skills, and I had been taught by my dad to trust my instincts. I started walking in the direction that I felt was right, hoping that, if anything, I could find some shelter before nightfall.

* * *

><p>A couple of hours passed. My stomach was starting to hurt a lot. It wasn't just hunger pains, but something else that was also keeping my body tired. All I had seen so far were a few birds and some field mice, and the clouds were starting to gather, threatening to rain. If it did, I was already planning a way to conserve some rainwater to drink while I walked.<p>

My eyes were still slightly blurry from whatever I had been hit with. I spent a lot of time keeping my mind off of my stomach by trying to think of what I had been hit with that could blur my sight without making my eyes hurt. As time passed, I started thinking about Randy, wondering if he had even noticed I was missing. I was beginning to regret my decision to keep my distance from him since Wade's ultimatum was revealed.

"It's okay, Cena. I know you were just upset," I heard Randy say from behind me.

I stopped and whirled around to face him, but Randy wasn't there.

_No one was there._

* * *

><p>Another hour passed. I kept hearing whispers like someone was nearby, but when I would look around, I would be faced with nothing again. I walked up a hillside, and I noticed a small broken down shack a few minutes ahead, but it looked like trash. I doubted anyone was inside. I made my way toward it anyway, grateful that at least I had found shelter.<p>

The closer I got to the shack, the more details came into view. A small garden made up the font yard, a cobblestone pathway went out for a long distance over some hills that probably led to a road, and I was almost sure I was seeing an old woman in a white nightgown walking around aimlessly near the garden. The closer I got to her, the more lifelike she appeared, but I couldn't be sure because she had yet to notice me. I stopped before I got too close, asking her, "Ma'am?"

She looked up, her blue eyes wide and her long white hair covering most of her features. Her hands were trembling and she seemed to barely register that I was there, but I told her anyway, "Ma'am, I really need some help. Do you have a phone I could use?"

She responded in a flurry of sentences that had little to no English in them. I couldn't quite catch what her language was, but it sounded Russian or German. She seemed to be either panicked or angry according to her tone, then she suddenly stopped and hugged herself, asking me timidly, "You take me for sex?"

_Jesus on a flipping bicycle. This lady thought I was going to rape her._

"No, no, ma'am, I'm not here for that. I just need some help. Can you please tell me what country this is?" I pleaded.

She slowly let go of herself, pouting a little like she was upset that I had turned her down, then she said to me, "England."

"England? We're in England?" I asked.

She nodded her head, and I breathed a sigh of relief. She turned on her heel and started walking back to the shack. I yelled to her, "Ma'am, could I come into your house and use your phone?"

She waved for me to follow her, so I did. She led me inside and I noticed immediately that the shack was totally deceiving from the outside. In fact, the inside was modern and restored from what I could tell. The old woman waved for me again, so I followed her into what looked like the living room. I spotted a cell phone on the couch and pointed at it, asking, "Could I use that phone?"

"I make you tea," she said, seemingly unconcerned with my request.

I called it a yes and grabbed the phone, dialing Randy's number right away. I was shocked that it even started playing Randy's ringtone, then I waited, eager to blurt out what had happened to me as soon as he answered.

The tone played...and played...and played...

_I was using a random cell phone. It was probably coming up as an unknown number, and Randy was going to ignore it._

"Please answer, please answer, please answer," I willed Randy to know it was me.

"Yeah?" I heard Randy's voice on the other line, and I was so excited, I momentarily lost my own.

"Is this Teddy? Don't fuck with me right now, man, I've got a million things to-" Randy started.

"Randy, it's me, John. I'm in trouble," I cut him off.

There was a moment of stunned silence, then Randy asked in a low voice, "Where are you? I went to your room last night but you wouldn't answer, and then this morning you didn't show up for the autograph signing."

I told him all that I knew, "I went into my hotel room and got jumped by somebody. I heard you knocking, but they gagged me so I couldn't speak, then they gave me something to knock me out. I woke up in some field in the middle of nowhere. It took me hours of walking but I found an old lady who let me into her house so I could use her cell phone."

Randy was so quiet, I couldn't tell if he was still on the line. I asked, "Randy?"

"Yeah, sorry. I just...if I had known someone was hurting you when I knocked, I would have..." Randy broke off.

"I know. It's not important now. What is important is getting me out of here. I can't understand the old woman who lives here. I think she speaks Russian," I said.

Randy became alert again, saying, "I can get Kozlov to translate. Stay on the line while I find him."

"Okay. Randy?" I asked.

"Yeah?" he said.

"How has Wade been dealing with my loss?" I asked morosely.

Randy sighed heavily, then he answered, "He's been keeping it quiet from everyone, including Vince, giving them some bogus story that you're out running errands for him, but he's been climbing the walls."

"You might have to tell him where I am, just to avoid more drama later on," I said.

"Yeah, I know," Randy replied.

The old woman walked back into the room, handing me a cup of tea. I took it and drank it down in one gulp, trying not to break the fragile cup as I handed it back to her. She smiled while she watched me, revealing what was left of her teeth. She took the cup back from me and put it down, then she started trying to climb on top of me, saying, "You take me for sex now."

"What? No! Lady, I don't want to sex you!" I tried to fight her off while holding the cell phone at the same time.

Randy must've heard me, because he called through the phone, "John? What's going on?"

The old woman was stronger than I anticipated. She kept trying to climb on me while I put the phone to my ear and explained, "The old woman is trying to molest me!"

Randy chuckled, answering dryly, "Well you tell her your ass is mine."

"It's not funny! She's freakishly strong!" I countered.

"John Felix Anthony Cena, you are a professional wrestler, for God's sake. Show some dignity and kick the old bag off of you!" Randy continued to joke.

"Keep laughing, Orton," I retorted loudly.

The old woman suddenly stopped trying to assault me and repeated in a thick accent, "Orton?"

"What?" Randy asked through the phone.

The old woman turned and took off like a shot. I explained to Randy, "She seemed to recognize the name Orton when I said it."

"I found Kozlov. Hold on a second," Randy told me.

While I waited, I started to feel my stomach hurting again. The tea had done little to quench my thirst, and I knew I would have to find something to eat soon.

The old woman rushed back into the room holding a crumpled piece of paper. She handed it to me and I instantly recognized the face of the man being advertised on the paper.

"Cena, you still there?" Randy asked.

"Yeah. You aren't gonna believe this, but the old lady just handed me a picture of Cowboy Bob," I said.

"My dad? What kind of picture is it?" Randy asked.

I tried to make out the words on the paper, but it was too badly damaged. I explained, "I think it's just some old magazine ad or something. I'm beginning to wonder if whoever brought me out here knew about this place. I mean, how many random shacks in the middle of the English countryside have classic wrestling fans?"

"For now, let's worry about finding you. I'll hand my phone off to Kozlov. You have the old lady?" Randy asked.

"Yeah," I said, handing her the phone.

The old woman took the cell phone from me cautiously, as if I might pull it away from her at any second. She started talking into it in her language, and I could hear Kozlov engaging in conversation at the other end. It was fast, furious, and without warning, the old woman suddenly threw the cell phone at the wall and shattered it.

_Wait. What the fuck?!_

"What did you do that for?" I yelled in shock.

The old woman argued with me in her language, then she started pacing the room, still muttering to herself. I just sat there dumfounded, unable to know if she had managed to give my location before she unceremoniously shattered my only means of communication.

* * *

><p>An hour passed. I knew that because various strategically placed cuckoo clocks all over the shack all chimed at once. My stomach was beginning to churn violently, and the old woman would only offer me tiny helpings of tea. I would've gotten up and inspected the kitchen myself, but every time I tried to leave the couch, the old woman would try to dry hump me or start yelling at me in her language.<p>

_Despite the circumstances, it was still better than being with Wade._

Finally, the old woman left me in peace for a while. A short time later, I heard the front door open. A young woman's voice with a British accent called into the house, "Mum?"

A figure ran up beside me. I looked and saw a young boy that had to be less than ten-years-old with olive skin looking back at me with widened eyes. He started shouting with a British accent, "John Cena! John Cena! John Cena!"

"Wha' are you doin', Danny?" the young woman's voice came from behind me.

She walked into the room, and froze when she saw me, letting her purse drop to the floor. She was wearing a business suit and had the same dark hair and green eyes as her son, but her features resembled the old woman. Her son kept chanting my name as she asked, "Who the hell are you?"

"It's John Cena, mum! John Cena! John Cena!" the boy cried out.

"Who?" she asked obliviously.

_Apparently putting my face on almost every piece of WWE merchandise for the last ten years was not enough to inform the general public about me. _

"Ma'am, I'm John Cena. I was left stranded and your mother let me in so I could call someone to come and get me," I explained, deciding to leave out the whole captors blinded me and left me to fend for myself and your mom smashed the cell phone after I used it part.

Danny continued to chant my name, jumping in circles as he said it. The woman ignored him, calling out, "Mum? Did you le' this man in our house?"

The old woman appeared again and nodded, pointing at me as she said, "He's to take me for sex."

"Mum!" the woman gasped.

The old woman said something in her language and took off again. The young woman came around to see me better and said, "My name is Dina. This is my son, Danny. He knows your name, why is tha'?"

I explained, "I'm a professional wrestler in England on a tour. I really should be getting back. Do you have a cell phone on you?"

She narrowed her eyes with suspicion, asking, "Are you a celebrity?"

_Jesus, lady. For real? _

"Well, I'm pretty well known, yeah," I answered.

She nodded, asking, "Then tha' means your mates will pay to ge' you back."

_Oh, shit. I think I liked it better when she thought I was a nobody._

* * *

><p>"John Cena, John Cena, John Cena!" Danny chanted while he bounded around the couch.<p>

"Yeah, you said that, like, twenty-five thousand times ago," I mentioned with an annoyed smile.

He stopped and smiled broadly at me, then he started again, but this time he chanted, "I love John Cena, I love John Cena, I love John Cena!"

My stomach churned heavily and I had to breathe slowly to keep from hurling. Dina had at least given me something to eat, but I was having more trouble keeping it down than when I was hungry. At least the old woman had stopped attempting sexual deviance with me, so that was a plus.

Danny continued chanting, so I sat up and waved my hand in front of my face, telling him, "You can't see me!"

He stopped and gasped with awe, then he started laughing, trying to imitate me. Dina watched us from across the room with a curious look on her face. I acted like I wasn't watching her, but I was keeping an eye on her every move, and her expressions were telling me a lot.

It was becoming more and more obvious to me that she _did_ know who I was. If she were helping my captor, I would probably get no help from her, but if not, I could possibly persuade her to get me out of this place.

"You've got this down! I really couldn't see you!" I told Danny.

He beamed excitedly, then I told him, "Why don't you show your grandma how invisible you can be?"

He nodded and rushed off to find her. I looked at Dina and asked politely, "May I ask where I am, exactly?"

Dina crossed her arms and legs defensively, asking, "Why do you need to know tha'? So you can tell someone where you are?"

I held my hands up in defeat, explaining, "Look, lady, I have no way of telling anyone where I am. I just want to know if I'm even still in England. I was in Manchester last, that's all I know for sure."

She reluctantly replied, "Well, you're still in England. Manchester's close bu' don' think you can make it if you walk."

My stomach lurched again. I groaned and rolled over on my side. Dina stood up, asking me, "You sick?"

I sighed, confessing, "I think so. My boss Wade is going to be so pissed with me."

Dina's eyes went wide.

"Wade? Wade Barre'?" she asked quickly.

"Yeah, the same," I said casually.

She pointed at me and said, "Wai' righ' there! Move an' you'll be sorry!"

I nodded and she left the room. A few minutes later, she came back, looking distraught. I asked, "What's wrong?"

"I called Wade. He's a mate of mine from the ol' days. He's already on his way. Don' know how he found ou' you were here," she answered.

I kept quiet about my call to Randy and waited for someone to arrive. Within minutes, there was a strict knock at the door, then Wade's voice bellowed from the other side, "Le' us in, Dina!"

Dina rushed to the door and opened it quickly. Wade gave her a stern look as he walked in. Randy was right behind him, and I smiled weakly when he looked over at me. Randy rushed to my side, while Wade kept his focus on Dina, asking, "Why the hell does he look like tha'?"

"I dunno! He was like tha' when I go' here! I fed him an' gave him tea an' he go' worse!" she argued.

"John? John, you alright?" Randy whispered to me.

I must've looked even worse than I felt. I struggled to reply, "My stomach hurts. I feel like shit."

"Come on, let's get you to the limo," Randy started to help me up.

Wade came to my other side and they both led me outside. Dina yelled at us as we left, "Don' I ge' somethin' for watchin' over him?"

Wade replied over his shoulder, "Ask again an' you'll get my fist up your arse!"

I was surprised that Wade was even bothering to help. He and Randy slid me into the limo, then Randy took the seat next to me, while Wade sat across from us, staring me down as the limo pulled out onto the main road and headed back to Manchester.

The further we drove, the worse I felt. Randy kept trying to get my attention, telling me, "We're getting you to a hospital. Wade's already made arrangements so you won't have to wait. Look at me, Cena. Look at me."

It was hard to keep my focus. Randy seemed to know that, so he tried to ask me random questions to maintain my attention.

"Did you know that R-Truth is thinking of doing a song with you? Would that mean that you are both best friends and rapping buddies?"

"Slater looks like the Wendy's chick, but does he need more freckles to look like Pippi Longstocking?"

"If you're the CeNation, then would John Morrison's group be the MorNation?"

"Would Sheamus turn to ash if we left him outside?"

"If Paul Bearer is Kane and Undertaker's father, and he's way short, then does that mean their mother was a giant, and who the hell would find Paul Bearer sexually attractive?"

"You think Santino could kick David Otunga's ass?"

"Why does Darren Young look like you with dark skin? In that case, could you two be in a tag team as Cena-Salt and Darren-Pepper?"

My stomach felt like it was going to implode. I groaned in agony. Randy took my face with his hands and said, "Cena, look at me. Everything is going to be alright."

He leaned in and kissed me softly. I was stunned that he would kiss me while Wade was watching. He pulled away slowly and told me again, "Everything is going to be alright."

"Okay, okay," I said, glancing at Wade.

He had an odd expression on his face, like he was angry. I wondered if he was offended by Randy kissing me.

_Or was it a look of jealousy?_

* * *

><p>I got to the hospital in one piece. Randy and Wade helped me to a private room, where I was given fluids and a lot of questions from the attending doctor. I realized after a short time that Wade had paid the doctors off, because they didn't bother to ask me the probing questions that most medical experts would when faced with a professional wrestler having extreme side effects after being injected with an unknown substance. Wade was also talking to the doctors consistently, and they allowed him to stay in the room with me, even after they demanded that Randy leave.<p>

It was late in the night by the time I started to feel better. Randy was allowed back into the room, and it felt good to see him again. He asked as soon as he came up to me, "How do you feel?"

"A lot better than before. I think I'm cured," I smiled.

Wade walked in before Randy could answer me and said, "We're ou' of here."

"What? Did they say what was wrong?" Randy asked.

"Cena's fine. He had an allergy attack is all. We should leave before the press ge' wind of it," Wade answered.

"What about whoever did this to him? What if they try it again?" Randy continued to argue.

Sighing with frustration, Wade explained, "We don' have time for this, Third Place. Ge' your boy an' we'll be on our way."

I started to get up myself, saying, "It's okay, Randy. Wade's right. If we get caught, it'll be headline news."

Randy glared at Wade, but helped me to my feet and led me back out to the limo. We sat in our same positions on the drive back to the hotel, but this time, Wade was looking more amused than concerned.

Randy put his arm around my shoulders, asking, "You sure you're alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, I think I'm okay," I answered honestly.

Wade spoke up with, "You two are such a fine couple."

Randy narrowed his eyes at Wade and asked, "Is that an insult?"

"On the contrary. I think I have a new offer to make to the two of you, an' I think you'll both be willing to hear it," Wade surmised.

"This better be fucking good, Wade," Randy warned.

With a smirk on his face, Wade explained, "You two le' me watch you fuck each other, an' I release Cena from Nexus."

Randy started to get up to lunge at Wade, but I told him, "Wait, Randy."

He stopped, looking back at me with a confused expression. I bargained with Wade, saying, "You watch, with no personal involvement whatsoever, and I'm not only released from Nexus, but you cannot fire me at Survivor Series or any other time, ever. You can't fire Randy for any reason, either. We're done with Nexus, hands down, no strings attached."

Randy sat back so he could stare at me with a stunned expression. Wade just continued to smile wickedly. He reached out his hand to shake mine and said, "No strings. You have my word."

"John, don't," Randy started.

I took Wade's hand and shook it, then I squeezed it hard enough to make him cry out. He pulled his hand away and I told him darkly, "If you go back on your word, you will be so fucking sorry."

_That wasn't a threat. That was a promise._


	8. Monday Morning in Manchester, England

8:

It was Monday morning in Manchester, England.

I was awake, but I didn't want to open my eyes. I knew that when I did, I would have to get up and check my new cell phone and find dozens of texts from Wade's phone telling me I had errands to run. He would probably be particularly annoying today, because it had already been set up by the RAW GM that Wade was supposed to win tonight's match against Orton in an effort to keep the fans from knowing what would happen at Survivor Series.

_He knew that kind of shit pissed me off, and the best way to rub it in my face was to come up with a bunch of dumbass things for me to do._

"Open your eyes, Cena. I know you're awake," Randy's voice said next to me.

I sat up like a shot, startled that he was there. Randy was lying comfortably beside me, resting his head in his arms and watching the pictures on the muted television with mild interest. I calmed down and asked him, "How did you get in here?"

With an arrogant half-smile, Randy informed me, "I have my ways."

I settled back down next to him and we watched the muted television for a while in silence. Then, Randy leaned over and pinched the skin just above my right hip.

"Ow," I said, pulling away from him.

He smiled slightly and did it again. I pushed his hand away, saying more sternly, "Ow! Stop it!"

Randy tried for me again, so I grabbed onto his wrist and rolled over to put his arm into a temporary hold. He immediately started fighting back, and I was beginning to realize that he was purposefully messing with me.

"Come on, Cena! You want to wrestle me, huh? Fight me, bitch!" Randy joked, giving my ass a quick spank with his free hand.

"Ow! Hey!" I laughed, trying to keep his arm in the hold.

I could lift and balance more weight than Randy, and my submission moves were more practiced, but he had a talent for fluidity when he wrestled, making it hard for me to keep a hold on him when he was so good at getting out of it and turning the tables on me before I had time to think it through.

He reached underneath me with his free hand and tried to pinch me again. I tried to roll out of the way, releasing the hold I had on his other arm. He quickly took hold of me around the waist and locked both his arms to restrict my motion.

_I knew exactly what he was doing. He knew that being banned from actual wrestling was weighing heavily on me, and he was trying to get me to vent some of my frustrations on him. _

I started to ease up when I realized his true intentions, but Randy wasn't about to let me give up. He let go of my waist and grabbed my arms, attempting to flip me over so he could pin me as he tried to provoke me, "Come on, John! Fight me!"

Again, I tried to ease up and get out of his hold on me, but Randy continued to use his best efforts to pin me to the bed. I pulled out from underneath him and tried to roll him off the bed, but he was too fast, and he was on top of me again.

"Don't touch me like you do in the ring, Cena. I want you to feel me when you touch me," Randy demanded.

He was referring to a switch that all wrestlers train themselves to turn off in their heads to essentially desensitize them when they're in the ring. With so much close physicality during a match, including being drenched with your sweat as well as the other guy's, among other bodily fluids, a wrestler has to shut down the instinct to react to these conditions to keep a level head, and to keep from being unintentionally stimulated by contact.

_It was my instinct to use this switch when wrestling, but with Randy, I didn't want to turn it off. _

I got out from under him again, but Randy grabbed me by my ankles and pulled me toward him, turning me on my back and pinning my arms down before I had time to roll away.

He stared straight into my eyes, as if he were swallowing my very being with the black pupils in his irises. I spoke my request softly, "Randy, I want to see all of you."

He blinked slowly, then leaned in closely enough to graze my lips with his own, making my insides tingle. He pulled away without actually kissing me, then he said boldly, "No."

"No? Why not?" I asked, confused.

Lowering his head, he pressed his lips to my throat and kissed me several times, then he came back up to meet my eyes again and said, "I don't want you to see me until the time is right."

I thought he was joking again, so I rolled my eyes and replied sarcastically, "When will that be? In the middle of the ring tonight?"

Randy let go of my arms and sat up on his knees, looking away from me like he was hurt by my words. I quickly recanted, "I'm sorry, Randy, I thought you were joking. I don't want to rush it if it means that much to you."

He looked back at me, but with less exuberance this time. I sighed and asked seriously, "Will you do something else for me?"

"What?" Randy asked with intrigue.

"Come here," I reached for him.

He came back down to form with me, then I took his right hand and pushed it down into my boxers, letting him feel the warm, hard stimulation that he had created for me. He smiled just slightly, then he took hold of my shaft and started rubbing it more roughly than I had anticipated.

I grabbed onto his shoulders, gripping them tightly as I closed my eyes and let out sounds of mixed pleasure and pain.

_Randy's bordering-on-violent, possessive passion was the biggest turn on I had ever experienced. _

* * *

><p>"Hey, Cena! Look at this, man!" Otunga shouted.<p>

I knew I would regret it even before I turned to look at him, but I did anyway.

_And I got a spoonful of pudding to the face._

"Fuckin' A, man!" I shouted, wiping the pudding away as I stood up to confront Otunga.

"Hey! We've go' a match goin' an' I won' le' you two scupper it!" Wade yelled at us from in the ring.

The stage was already set for Monday Night RAW. Wade had taken it upon himself to come out and practice for his match while Nexus watched.

_I had no fucking clue why. He already knew he was going to win._

"Gabriel, come into the ring an' be my partner until Randy comes," Wade ordered.

With a short sigh, Gabriel got up and went into the ring to help Wade. I sat back down and folded my arms in silent protest, hoping that Randy would come out before I decided to do some very illegal things to shut down Otunga.

As if he had heard my wishes, Randy did appear at the top of the ramp, but he was being escorted by Cody Rhodes, Drew McIntyre, Sheamus, and DiBiase with Maryse by his side.

_This was about to become quite the show._

Wade glared at the group as they came down to the ring. Slater stood up and asked defiantly, "This session is invitation only! What the hell are all of you doin' here?"

Rhodes put up his hands in defeat, saying with mock innocence, "I'm here to practice my speech on British people with bad oral hygiene."

McIntyre nodded and added, "I'm here to help 'im. Brits do have ugly chops, and even uglier wallies."

Sheamus laughed out loud at the last word, but the rest of us were not sure what it meant.

"We're here to enjoy the open air," DiBiase smiled triumphantly and winked at Maryse.

"It's a closed arena!" Husky Harris pointed out, but DiBiase ignored him.

Wade pointed at Orton and asked, "Wha' is this abou', O?"

Shrugging, Randy replied, "Nothing. I just thought I'd bring a few friends to hang out with your little army of rebels."

Wade scoffed, but didn't argue. While Randy got into the ring, Rhodes and McIntyre made their way to the announcer's table to find a microphone, while Sheamus took a seat next to Slater and DiBiase and Maryse took their seats between Harris and McGuillicutty.

Gabriel got out of the ring and came back over to sit next to me. I hadn't realized until that moment that he had been mostly quiet lately. I leaned in and asked him so that the others didn't hear, "You alright, Gabriel?"

"What? Yeah, I'm fine," he answered distractedly.

"Okay, if you say so," I left it alone.

I watched Wade and Randy discussing their moves in the ring. At one point, Randy nodded and reached out his hand to shake Wade's in agreement. While Wade was shaking his hand, Randy glanced deliberately at me.

_It was the same hand Randy had used earlier to get me off...twice._

"Testing, testing," Rhodes spoke into the microphone he had found, tapping it to boom the sound.

A high pitched twang of feedback echoed through the speakers, nearly deafening us all. Wade turned around and shouted at Rhodes, "Oi!"

Rhodes imitated an announcer as he spoke through the microphone, saying, "My apologies for that recent annoyance, ladies and gentlemen. It won't happen again. Enjoy your evening."

I looked over at DiBiase and Maryse. They were whispering to each other in hushed tones. Harris was next to Maryse, staring her down like she was a premium grade stake. She suddenly turned to face him and saw his expression. She gave him a deathly glare and shoved her hand in his face to back him off, then she turned her attention back to DiBiase. Harris folded his arms and pouted while McGuillicutty tried to stifle laughter.

"Excuse me, everyone, but your teeth are really bad," Rhodes used a deep, gravely voice to emphasize his words.

Sheamus chuckled, but his attention was on Wade and Randy. I nodded at Sheamus and asked, "So how has life been for you?"

He looked at me with his usually pessimistic expression, stating sarcastically in his thick Irish accent, "It's jus' dandy, pretty boy. I'm an Irishman in England."

I didn't quite get the joke, but the look on Sheamus' face made me think it wasn't a silly one.

Wade and Randy started trying some moves together, while DiBiase and Maryse started noisily making out, to the chagrin of McGillicutty and Harris, who were being shoved and kicked by flailing arms and feet. Harris finally got up and left, saying, "I can't deal with this shit."

Sheamus scoffed and leaned back to stretch, purposefully swatting Slater in the head as he did so. Slater turned to face Sheamus and shouted, "What the fuck?"

"Wha'? A man can't roll out and relax himself?" Sheamus argued defiantly.

Rhodes started beat boxing into the microphone, which put Wade off focus just long enough for Randy to shove him into the ring ropes.

Wade went wide eyed and shouted, "Wha' the fuck did you jus' do?"

Everybody went silent. Randy just smiled deviously and replied, "I was just going along with your play, Wade."

Wade turned to me without warning and shouted, "Wha' did _you _jus' do, Cena?"

I put my hands up in defeat, saying, "I didn't do anything."

Wade pointed at me and continued ranting, "You are the referee of this match, an' you should be in the ring! Ge' in here now!"

"Alright," I said, getting up to climb into the ring.

DiBiase and Maryse went back to making out. Rhodes went back to his so-called speech practice. I slid underneath the bottom rope, but I was met with Wade's anger before I even got up as he shouted, "Wha' was tha' look for?"

"What look? I don't have a look," I said honestly.

Wade continued to shout at me, saying, "There was a look an' I'm givin' you car duties because of it! Tha' means I wan' my car cleaned ou' an' shined after the show tonight."

"Alright. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to have a look," I said.

I glanced at Randy. His jaw was tightly clenched.

"Le's ge' back to it, then," Wade started on Randy again.

Randy suddenly grabbed him and shoved Wade hard enough to make him smack into the mat. Slater started to get up to see if Wade was alright, but Sheamus put his foot out and tripped Slater, making him land hard outside of the ring.

Wade looked at me instead of Randy, yelling, "Aren' you goin' to disqualify 'im for tha'?"

I shook my head, saying, "It's just practice, Wade. I can't disqualify him."

Wade's expression went dark. He stated boldly, "No more of this! Nexus, we're leavin' now!"

The Nexus members were all too happy bail. I mouthed a good-bye to Randy and got out of the ring. Wade got out as well, but stormed past me and walked out of sight without even acknowledging I was there.

_There was going to be hell to pay._

* * *

><p>Randy stood backstage, waiting for the moment when his song would play to cue him out to the ring. I came up behind him to wait for my cue. We had already discussed his speech, where he would badmouth me, then I would come out and defend myself. We would look like we hated each other, like there was so much tension between us, and like I may or may not betray him come Survivor Series.<p>

He turned around and pulled me into him, mashing his lips against mine and sinking his tongue into my mouth to taste me inside. I was caught off-guard, feeling a wave of nervousness and excitement when I realized that we could be caught at any moment.

He pulled away, but kept his hands on my face, looking me in the eyes as he said, "I'm sorry I got you into trouble earlier. That was a stupid move."

I shook my head, saying, "I'll be fine. It's nice to see someone get under Wade's skin for once."

Randy was unconvinced, saying, "I don't think this is fine. Wade was really mad."

His music started. I playfully shoved him away from me, saying, "Go. You don't want to be late for the fans."

Giving me a quick and predatory smile, Randy turned on his heel and walked out to the ramp. I came out minutes later and argued with him like we planned. When we got backstage again, we separated so that the show could start flowing.

I was surprised when Wade allowed me to have my match with Otunga. He didn't even mention his recent restriction on my wrestling capabilities. In fact, he didn't mention anything at all. Wade only spoke to me when we were out in the ring.

The Miz made Randy lose the final match to Wade, an idea that Wade had come up with at almost the last minute. I wasn't supposed to see Miz using his finisher on Randy, but I felt Randy hit the mat while I stood at the edge of the ring and argued with Otunga.

_It was a damn hard hit._

I followed Miz and Alex Riley backstage, then I asked Miz when we were out of view of the others, "What was with the hard hit on Randy, Miz?"

He nodded at me, saying, "Oh, you like that? Wade told me to use some toughness with my finisher on Randy. He said it would look a lot better, and it sure as hell did."

"Did Randy know about it?" I asked.

"Wade said he already talked to Randy. It's cool," Miz waved my concern away with his hand.

_I highly doubted any of this was cool._

* * *

><p>I took Wade's car out to get it cleaned and shined like he asked, driving as fast as legally possible to get back to the hotel once I was done so I could see Randy again. Just as I was checking in, Randy texted me to ask if I was at the hotel yet. I responded that I was going to Wade's room first, then I would be free for the night. He texted me back:<p>

HURRY UP. I WANT TO PLAY OR I'LL BE A DULL BOY.

I smiled and put my phone away. I walked up to Wade's room and knocked on the door. I heard him say on the other side, "Enter."

I stepped inside, finding Wade sitting by the far wall with a mostly empty bottle of lager in his hand. There were several other empty bottles of alcohol on the floor around him. I closed the door and quietly walked over to him, asking, "Wade?"

He didn't look up at me initially, but said with slurred speech, "Where ya bun off to, Ceeena?"

"I went to clean and shine your car, like you asked me to," I pulled out the keys and handed them back to him.

He seemed to ignore me, asking off-subject, "You still a luttle down since hospital vusut?"

"You mean when you and Randy took me to the hospital? I think I'm okay. A little weak, but nothing I can't handle," I answered.

Wade nodded slightly and said, "You wonder why you...why tha' haws?"

"The house I found when I was stranded? I was just glad it was there. I probably would've died if it weren't," I answered.

Wade pointed at himself and said, "Tha' was my mate's haws. My mate. Wonder why tha' is?"

For a moment, I was confused. Then Wade smiled broadly at me and it became blindingly clear.

_It wasn't coincidence that I happened upon a house that belonged to a friend of Wade's. It was the plan all along._

Without thinking, I lunged at Wade. He flew out of his chair and we both hit the floor. Wade quickly sobered up and grabbed one of the bottles on the floor, smashing it over my head.

I fell away from him, reaching back to see if he had made a gash. Wade took the opportunity and jumped on top of me, slamming his knees into my chest to knock the wind out of me.

I gasped for air. Wade rolled me over and jammed the heel of his left hand into the back of my neck where my surgical scar from when I broke my neck was still visible. The scar tissue burned with pain, and Wade was pressing hard enough to pinch the nerve there so my upper body was almost impossible to move.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

He didn't say anything. Instead, Wade grabbed the rim of my jeans and boxers and started pulling them down.

_What the fuck is happening?  
><em>

My initial thought was that he was trying to scare me. I told him, "Alright, stop it, Wade. You're freaking me out."

He didn't stop. He pulled my jeans and boxers down to expose my backside, then I heard him unzipping his jeans.

_What the fuck? What the fuck? What the fuck?_

"Wade, what are you doing? Let go, alright? Let go!" I kept trying to get his attention.

He didn't seem to notice that I was even speaking. I could hear him moving but I couldn't see what he was doing. He pressed his lubricated stiffness up against me, and it became blatantly obvious that he wasn't just trying to scare me.

_Wade was trying to rape me._

He reached down and I heard him pull his belt out of the loops of his jeans. I couldn't see what he was about to do, but I damn well knew what was coming. He started pelting my backside violently, beating me with enough force to make my head spin with nausea.

I snapped my eyes shut and clenched my teeth, trying desperately not to cry out and provoke him. He shouted at me while he hit me, "You like tha', Cena? You would like it if Randy was here, yeah?"

He suddenly stopped, whispering to me, "Our deal is off. I don' want to see Randy fuck you. I'll jus' fuck you instead an' ruin you for 'im, then beat 'im for the Championship an' watch you both burn."

I don't know how I did it, but I managed to bring my right elbow back to make a direct hit.

Wade fell backward, stunned. I was sure I only managed to hit his arm, so I whirled around and went for a place that wouldn't let him bounce back easily.

I smashed my fist into his exposed erection, and watched as he cried out in agony and fell back against the wall.

Adrenaline kicked in. I pulled my jeans back up and rushed out of the room before Wade had a chance to react.

Everything was blurry. I looked down the hallway, temporarily dazed.

_Where am I? Where am I? Where am I?  
><em>

"Help?" I tried to yell, but it came out as only a whisper.

Tears were streaming down my cheeks, but I couldn't feel them. I stumbled down the hallway, feeling the numbness from my backside traveling down the back of my legs.

Or was it blood?

"Help?" I called out again, but this time, I didn't hear any sound.

"Six...five...nine..." I struggled to remember Randy's room number.

_Randy? Where is he? Where am I?_

My thoughts weren't making sense. My body wasn't making sense. I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing.

Then, I stopped.

"Six five nine?" I whispered to myself, trying to concentrate on the door number in front of me.

It looked like it said the right numbers. I reached out to knock, then I second guessed myself. I stood there for what seemed like hours, but it was probably only seconds before the door opened and I saw Randy standing there.

"John?" his expression was a mix of concern...and horror.

The tears wouldn't stop falling now. I still couldn't feel them, but when I fell against Randy, I could feel him.

_He may be all I could ever feel again._


	9. Pump Up Your Sneakers

9:

For the next seven days, Randy didn't let me out of his sight.

We toured Europe with the rest of the roster, and as far as most of them knew, everything was normal. Only Wade and I knew all of the details of what happened. I told Randy most of it, but I left out the part where Wade tried to rape me, because I couldn't bear the thought of having to visit Randy in prison after he murdered Wade. For the time being, Randy confiscated my cell phone and kept me from answering any of Wade's texts or calls.

"Oh, hi, Wade. FUCK YOU!" Randy hung up on Wade the first time he tried to call.

Wade wouldn't try to talk to me in person, but sent various members of Nexus to check up on me. I didn't have to deal with them, either, because Randy got to them first. It was like an extended vacation, spending all my time with Randy and no time with The Nexus. I was nervous at first, thinking Wade would try to talk to Vince or the RAW General Manager just to get me back to my assistant duties, but as the days passed without incident, I became assured that Wade was backing off.

The bruising on my backside was painful, but as a professional wrestler, pain is a part of the job, and one of our talents is knowing about the most effective remedies to kill pain and heal injuries. Randy had a particularly odd smelling white paste that he swore by, and he insisted on massaging it onto my injuries every day.

_I wasn't about to complain about that._

He wouldn't tell me what the remedy was exactly, but it was healing the bruising faster than I expected, and I could walk around without looking awkward. The most pain I felt was when I got up in the morning, and the morning before we were leaving to go back to the States, I felt particularly sore, so I was lying on my stomach in bed, watching the sunlight drift in through our hotel window while Randy paced the room and argued with Slater through my cell phone.

"You can tell Wade that Cena and I are taking a later flight. He doesn't need to know when, and he doesn't need to know why, and if any of you Nex-shits are there waiting for us, I'll put my foot in your asses and dance you around like puppets," Randy threatened.

I chuckled, trying to imagine Randy kicking his foot so Slater would dance in the middle of the airport. It was both disgusting and hilarious.

"You can't just fuckin' do whatever you want and expect us-" Slater yelled through the phone, but Randy ended the call before he could finish.

"Oh, man," I grumbled.

"What? What's wrong?" Randy was at my side in a moment's notice.

I tried to get up, saying, "My ass hurts but I gotta pee. Can you just lead me to the bathroom?"

Randy sighed with frustration and helped me to my feet. I asked, "Are you upset about something?"

He led me to the bathroom, saying thickly, "I just thought it'd be me who made your ass hurt so bad you couldn't get up."

I looked up at him, and he smiled wryly. I wasn't sure if the comment was his dry sense of humor kicking in, or if he were serious.

_Probably a little of both._

Randy took me into the bathroom and I started pulling away from him, saying, "I think I can take it from here."

"You need me to get you anything else? A change of clothes? Bubbles for your bath? I could hold your wee wee while you tinkle," Randy joked.

I laughed despite my pain, saying, "Would you get out? I can't pee when there's an audience."

He continued to joke to lift my spirits, replying, "Oh, so you only want people watching you when you pump up your sneakers."

My cell phone rang, so Randy turned to leave, but I argued with him, "Hey, that was years ago and it was really cool at the time!"

Randy answered my cell, and his tone went dark. I knew instantly that it was Wade from Randy's strained words as he said, "We're not getting on the damn plane with you. We'll be at the arena as scheduled and we'll talk about what we have to do for RAW, but until then, you won't be seeing John."

I finished peeing and inched my way to the tub for a shower. Wade must've argued with Randy, because I heard Randy yell into the phone, "Why do you think I'm doing this, Barrett? You think you deserve to talk to Cena after what you fucking did?"

I slowly took off my shirt and started on my boxers, turning away from the open door. I couldn't hear Randy over the running water, but I assumed he was still bantering with Wade. I let my boxers drop to the floor, exposing myself completely to get into the shower. I was startled when I heard Randy say from just behind me, "He tried to rape you."

He didn't say it as a question, so I knew that Wade had blurted the truth.

_I was hoping Wade was drunk enough to forget that part of the evening._

"Please. Randy, don't kill him, he was drunk, and he was out of his mind, and he didn't succeed, and I will not be responsible for you serving a life term after you gut Wade in the arena parking lot!" I shouted.

I locked eyes with him, but Randy's expression was blank. He suddenly came forward and brought my lips to his, then he kissed me almost violently for over a minute before he pulled away and whispered somberly, "The only reason I won't kill him is because you told me not to."

"Thank you," I breathed a sigh of relief.

Randy looked away and clenched his jaw. I asked, "What are you thinking?"

Turning back to search my eyes for the truth, Randy asked outright, "Did he do it to punish you because of me?"

I violently shook my head, replying, "No, no, it wasn't like that. I think Wade has been...lusting after me for a while."

"What? Why didn't you tell me?" Randy became more upset.

"I didn't know anything for sure. He just gave me looks sometimes, but he was never obvious about it. I didn't even think he was capable of kidnapping until he confessed it to me right before he took me down," I said.

Randy calmed down, but I could tell he was still bothered. I added, "I don't know what Wade's intentions are, but as long as I'm with you, I know I'm safe from whatever he throws my way."

Randy gave me one last kiss, then he closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against mine, saying quietly, "I love you, John Cena."

I pulled away to look up at him, taken aback by his words. He slowly opened his eyes and looked at me in a way that no one had ever looked at me before. I knew that he meant exactly what he said, and he knew that I felt it, too.

I opened my mouth to say it back to him, but my cell phone rang from the other room again. Randy growled with frustration and reluctantly turned to leave. I turned back to get into the shower, suddenly realizing that my pain had all but disappeared.

_Randy had a way of making me feel euphoric. _

* * *

><p>We boarded a later flight like Randy had scheduled, and surprisingly, Nexus and Wade weren't waiting for us.<p>

_I was glad. I didn't think Randy the Anal Puppeteer would be a hit with the airliner._

Randy drove us to the arena in his old beat up truck, purposefully parking far away from Nexus vehicles. Randy didn't tell me until we were inside, "Wade wants to see you about his idea for a triple threat encounter on RAW tonight during Piper's Pit. I told him he could only talk to you, but you weren't going back to assisting him just yet. He agreed."

My stomach tied into knots at the thought of having to see Wade again. It would be the first time we had come face-to-face since he confessed to abducting me, then followed up with torture and attempted rape. My footsteps slowed, but Randy was on a mission, so I jogged to catch up with him just as he opened a random door and walked in, asking, "Anyone here?"

Randy stopped inside and I almost walked into him. I could hear moaning and I spotted the source by the far wall. Teddy DiBiase was completely naked and thrusting Maryse into the wall while she clutched the back of his head and held his face firmly between her breasts. I quickly put my hand over my eyes, but I couldn't help peeking.

_I never knew Maryse could make a face of pleasure without a name brand being involved._

Without skipping a beat, Randy nodded at DiBiase and asked, "What's up, Teddy?"

"Me," DiBiase joked, continuing to pound into Maryse while he lolled his head back to smile wickedly at us.

"You seen Wade?" Randy asked, seemingly having no problem with the erotic moment he was interrupting.

"Down the hall and to the right," DiBiase instructed.

Maryse stuck her hand out at us like she usually did when she wasn't impressed. Orton let out an irritated sigh and turned on his heel to leave. I ran into him trying to get out myself, removing my hand from my face as we came back out to the hallway and Randy closed the door and left the rich couple alone.

He started walking again, and I followed him in silence. Midway to our destination, Randy looked back at me and mentioned, "Did you ever see Maryse look so happy when there wasn't something expensive involved?"

"I was pretty much thinking the same thing!" I answered, and we both laughed.

"Shit, now I'm all hot and bothered and seeing Wade's gonna fuck it up for me," Randy said.

"That was pretty intense," I replied, unsure if Randy was joking or not.

He stopped and turned to face me, asking, "You want to make a moment of our own in an empty room?"

I smiled at him, but his expression was mischievous, and I was beginning to think he really was being serious.

Slater appeared from a room down the hallway before I could know for sure, nodding at me as he said, "Wade's been waiting for you."

He didn't even look at Randy, but went back into the room. Randy stayed close to me as we made our way inside, spotting Wade playing a game of pool with Harris, McGuillicutty and Otunga in what looked like a makeshift break room. Slater went back to sit down next to Punk and Gabriel by the far wall. I glanced at Punk, but he was looking away from me, and he seemed to be deliberately trying not to make eye contact.

Wade put down his cue stick and reached out to me as he came forward, saying, "The prodigal son returns!"

He was acting completely harmless, but the mere sight of him was unleashing all of my memories of him, not just from last week but from every time he symbolically and literally spit in my face. The memories were threatening to overwhelm me, and I knew if Wade tried to hug me, I would lose it in front of Randy and The Nexus.

Randy seemed to sense my disdain, because he moved between us before Wade could touch me. I didn't dare breath as Wade's expression went from welcoming to brooding, and he became defensive, alerting Nexus to stand up and brace for a fight.

_If this becomes a brawl, Randy and I are on our own._

Looking Randy in the eyes, Wade asked, "Wha' do you wan', Third Place?"

The Nexus snickered to add to Wade's insult. Randy remained unmoving as he answered, "You said you wanted to talk to us about RAW tonight. Say your piece."

Wade glanced back at me, and I was almost sure he was going to ask something of me, but instead, he lessened his defense and said passively, "I want an argument with words to brace for Survivor Series, then Randy 'ill give Cena the RKO for tryin' to keep me out of harms way, an' Cena 'ill give both Randy and I the Attitude Adjustment an' walk ou' of the ring."

_Did Wade just say he wanted me to use my finisher on him without consequence? Jet lag really does mess with your head._

"You want Cena to A. A. both of us?" Randy asked suspiciously.

"Tha's wha' I said, O! It'll give the fans the idea tha' Cena's still go' some heart after all I put 'im through. Fans like tha' sort of thing," Wade surmised.

There was a moment of thoughtful silence, then Randy asked exactly what I was thinking, "Then what?"

Wade put up his hands in defeat, answering, "Wha' nothin'! We leave the ring, the show ends, sleep tigh', good 'morrow."

Randy narrowed his eyes like he wasn't sure whether to believe Wade or not, but I broke in with, "Deal."

Everyone turned to look at me with shocked expressions. I shrugged and said, "Sounds good. I'll finish you both so the fans won't know who I'm rooting for at Survivor Series and they'll have hope I'm coming out of it alive. Makes for a great show."

Wade clapped his hands together and said, "It's settled, then. Now, on to other business. Cena, I have a list for you..."

"Sorry, I've got other work to do. I'll get back to you later," I said, turning to leave.

"Oi!" Wade shouted, but Randy and I walked out and slammed the door before he could call us back inside.

"What did you just do?" Randy asked.

"I don't know. Let's get out of here," I started walking away quickly.

Randy followed after me, sporting a proud smile.

* * *

><p>RAW went on the air, and the fighting began. Randy and I went to the locker room before going out to Piper's Pit, but Randy got a call to meet up with R-Truth, so he told me before he left, "Stay here. I'll be right back."<p>

"I'm still getting ready. I won't go anywhere," I said.

Randy nodded and left me alone in the locker room. I was looking for my seat bands, paying no attention to my surroundings as I searched my locker for them. I finally spotted them on the shelf and took them out, closing the door to reveal someone standing next to me. I jumped and took a step back, calming down when I realized it was Punk.

"What do you want?" I asked, using a defensive tone just in case.

Punk put his hands up and explained, "I'm only here to talk to you. I want you to know that even though I've been hanging out with Slater, I haven't said anything about you and Randy and I don't plan to."

I nodded and said, "Well, thank you for that."

I sat down to put on my sneakers, thinking the conversation was over, but Punk didn't leave. Instead, he stood next to me and explained further, "I'm okay with whatever you and Randy are all about, okay? I mean, I don't know if it's a good thing to have a relationship between co-workers, especially when said co-workers have the opportunity to settle disputes in a wrestling ring, but each to his own."

"I think we'll be fine, Punk. Thanks," I said, hoping he would take the hint and leave.

"There's just a lot that I want to say to you, and I think we got off on the wrong foot and you have this idea about me that's not right," Punk began again.

I finished putting my shoes on and stood up, saying, "I've got to go now, Punk. We'll talk later."

_I don't care what Randy said. I wasn't staying in here another minute with Punk._

I started to leave, but Punk stopped me when he shouted, "Have security check the top of the ramp just behind the curtain before you go out!"

"What? Why?" I asked, concerned.

Punk bit his pierced lip like he had said too much. He struggled to tell me, "Just do it, okay?"

"Alright, I will," I said.

* * *

><p>As soon as Randy came back, I told him what Punk said and we both had security check where Punk had instructed. I watched them closely, waiting for one of them to find something and inform me that I could've been seriously injured if it had gone unnoticed, but after several minutes, the head of security told me, "All clear."<p>

"What? Oh, okay," I said, trying not to raise his suspicions.

Randy leaned into me and whispered, "Do you think he was wrong?"

I shrugged. My music started, so I knew I had to get out to the ring. I carefully stepped onto the ramp, but nothing happened as I made my way out. I argued with Piper, then argued with Wade. It was harder for me to keep my bearings so close to Wade, but I was able to hide my feelings knowing that Randy would be out to pummel him soon. Sure enough, Randy appeared, and I gave them both the A. A. just like Wade instructed.

As soon as I walked backstage, Nexus was standing there waiting for me. I braced for impact, but they didn't attack me. Instead, Slater warned, "Don't get too used to the feeling of finishing Wade, Cena."

"Yeah, that was a one-time thing," Otunga added.

"Right. I'll just be leaving now," I moved past them, stepping around the edge of the ramp to do so.

I glanced down and noticed a drill lying on the floor next to the top of the ramp. It wasn't unusual for the setup crew to leave tools lying around from time to time, but Punk's message came back into my mind when I saw the drill.

_Maybe Punk was right all along, but someone overheard us and played clean up before I could find out for sure._

I kept walking so Nexus didn't notice that I saw anything. As long as they thought I was still oblivious to everything, we could just keep on being mortal enemies with no reason for an all-out war.

* * *

><p>The rest of the roster left for their hotels, but Randy and I were the last to leave because I wanted to stay behind a couple more hours to help the crew load up the trucks. I was also hoping to waste time so that Wade and The Nexus would be long gone.<p>

Once the trucks were loaded and gone, Randy and I walked back to his truck. Randy asked me when we were alone, "You sure you should've been doing all that lifting when you're still healing?"

"I feel fine," I shrugged.

"Guess my remedy works too well on you. I'll have to lay off it so you don't offer to help load the trucks again," Randy joked.

"Aw, no more cheek massages?" I mocked disdain.

Randy let out a hearty laugh, and I was completely immersed in him. I didn't even notice Wade stepping out from behind Randy's truck until Wade shouted, "Oi!"

We both stopped and Wade stated to me, "Where 'ave you been?"

"None of your business," Randy stated.

Wade ignored Randy, focusing on me as he said, "I compromised you las' week, an' you compromised me in the ring this week. Tha' makes us even. You're back to assistant duties now, Cena."

Randy opened his mouth to argue, but I shot back before he could, "Are you kidding me? You think one A. A. makes up for the damage you've done?"

Wade pointed at me, arguing, "Don' make this a sob story, Cena. We both know you like havin' me order you around!"

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. The shock on Randy's face made me think he was thinking the same thing. Wade continued without remorse, "I knew you wouldn't be harmed when I le' Slater an' Otunga drive you out to be stranded. It was jus' my way of teachin' you a lesson. The effects of the drugs was purely accidental, but it made the lesson sink in all the better."

Wade smiled a little and stated, "As far as las' week, we both know you've wanted a pity fuck from me since I made you-"

Wade didn't get to finish his sentence. His face was busy being slammed into the pavement because Randy gave him a parking lot-style RKO.

"Oh my fuck!" I shouted, watching Wade's get knocked out cold as his head bounced off the cement.

Randy quickly rose back to his feet, seething at Wade with undaunted ferocity.

Then Randy's expression became one of shock, and he looked at me as he asked, "What the hell did I just do?"

"We should run away now," I said, and Randy and I both took off toward his truck.

Randy peeled out of the parking lot and drove through back roads as we broke into a fit of laughter. It was late when Randy stopped at a random lake in the middle of nowhere for the night, and we still couldn't stop laughing as he pulled out some blankets and we laid them out in the back of the truck to stay the night.

When we couldn't laugh anymore, Randy looked at me, and I looked back at him. He slowly backed off away from me toward the lake, pulling off his shirt, then unzipping his jeans as he beckoned for me to join him with a wry smile.

The moonlight was bright enough to see him easily. He pulled out of his shoes, balled his socks up and tossed them aside, then let his pants drop just before he reached the water. I could see Randy completely, and I had no complaints. He was not only everything I believed, but he was more well endowed than most in one very important place.

_Damn. How did he fit himself into his wrestling trunks?_

Randy turned away from me and ran into the lake, diving underwater so I couldn't see him. I started taking off my own clothes and stepped into the water, but a quick look around showed no sign of Randy.

"Orton? Where are you?" I called out.

He still didn't show himself, so I took in a breath and dove underwater to find him. I swam around in the shallow part of the water, but I could barely see anything in the darkness. I was caught by surprise when Randy appeared out of nowhere and grabbed me by the face, mashing his lips against mine as he took my breath away and I took his.

We broke the surface and Randy continued kissing me, his passion increasing as we got out of the water and he led me to the back of the truck. We lay down together and Randy broke away from my lips and started kissing my body, using his tongue to lick the droplets of water from every inch of my skin.

I could see him getting stiff just from tasting me, and his touch was arousing me as well. He came back up to meet me and asked, "Do you want to do this?"

"Yes," I answered honestly.

He reached for a bag nearby and pulled out a condom and a bottle of lube, telling me as he used both on himself, "I don't want to make your injury worse. I'll go slow, but if it hurts too much, you tell me to stop."

"Okay," I said, letting him prop my knees over his shoulders.

Randy used his momentum to hold me up at an angle, then he slowly made his way inside of me. It felt painful in a way that I had never experienced before, and it was both frightening and erotic at the same time. Randy held my arms down and focused his gaze with mine as he made slow, deliberate thrusts with his hips, cautiously moving in and out while he gauged me for signs that I might be in too much pain to continue. I let him go on, not worried about whatever pain was being created, because it wasn't enough to make me want him to stop.

Randy's erection was creating friction inside that started to induce a kind of pleasure that I had not experienced before. It felt stronger than any form of stimulation I was aware of, and it kept getting stronger the more Randy moved.

I started groaning just to ease the building pressure, and Randy slowed himself, asking, "Am I hurting you?"

"No. Go faster," I answered.

Randy did as I said, and the stimulation became even stronger, but it was followed by a wave of pain from my injury trying to resurface.

I clenched my teeth and closed my eyes, trying to ignore the pain and focus only on the pleasure. Randy slowed again, asking, "John?"

"Keep going, keep going...faster..." I urged him.

He did, and I opened my eyes again, watching Randy as he let out groans of his own, climbing toward his peak. His grip on my arms went tighter, and Randy leaned in to steal a kiss from me. When he did, the pain from my injury doubled, but I refused to cry out because I knew it would make Randy stop.

"Don't stop, don't stop," I started saying aloud.

"John," Randy breathed, and I knew he was reaching his end.

The new pleasure intensified with the pain. It threatened to overwhelm me as I shouted without thinking, "Fuck me like Wade never could, Randy!"

My words seemed to inspire something inside of Randy that I didn't expect. He started pushing and pulling hard, shoving my arms behind my head and pinning them there as Randy took physical control of me.

I never came so hard before. Randy felt his at almost the same moment, his seed gushing out into his condom while mine stained his stomach. He pulled out and rolled over beside me, resting his hand over my mess but neglecting to wipe it away.

My backside was throbbing with pain from my injury, but I didn't care. I felt better than I had in a long time. I looked over at Randy, who was smiling broadly while he stared up at the stars. I asked him, "Do you want me to get a towel to wipe off your stomach?"

He just shook his head, telling me, "No. I want to leave it there for a while longer."

I closed my eyes and rested beside him, whispering, "I love you, too, Randy Orton."


	10. 3AM

10:

I laced up my shoes and checked the old clock on the wall. It was 3 A.M. I didn't seem to think the time was strange. Instead, I thought to myself that it was almost time for my match on RAW. I stood up and walked out to the hallway to find Wade and Nexus, thinking that they would be looking for me. I was certain that the match I was about to have was very important, and the crowd would be disappointed if they didn't see me win.

Who was my opponent? I couldn't seem to remember. I saw another clock and double checked the time. It said 5 A.M. Again, I didn't see it as odd. I kept walking, finding the hallway to be extraordinarily long and dark. I finally came upon a door and opened it, walking in to find The Nexus with their backs to me, standing around something and talking amongst themselves.

I didn't see Wade, so I asked, "Where's Barrett?"

No one acknowledged me. Slater turned to Otunga and said, "I can't believe Wade has this."

McGillicutty shook his head and replied, "No way did he get them so easily."

Otunga argued, "It's totally legit. He took them from Cena like a fat man taking a cake."

The Nexus laughed. I became confused, asking, "What are you guys talking about?"

They still ignored me, so I walked around to see what they were all looking at. I caught sight of an oversized jar sitting in the middle of what looked like a TLC table. When I came close, I saw that there were two round objects inside the jar. I leaned in closely to see them better, and it suddenly dawned on me what they were.

Gabriel said it aloud, "Wade actually cut off Cena's balls and put them in a jar."

I woke up with a start out of the dream. The bright sunlight hurt my eyes and my injury hurt like hell and made it hard to move. It took me a few seconds to realize that I was still in the back of Randy's truck, and he was standing beside it shaking me awake. I squinted to see him and asked, "What's up?"

He had a look of deep concern on his face as he replied, "We've got to go."

* * *

><p>Randy didn't speak as we packed up and left the lake. He kept his focus on the road, and I checked his speed several times, noticing that he kept inching higher and higher as we drove. My injury felt worse than ever, and I kept shifting in my seat to find a comfortable position. Finally, Randy asked me, "What's the matter? Did I hurt you last night?"<p>

"No, I'm just sore. It's always worse in the morning, you know that," I lied, shifting in my seat again.

Randy narrowed his eyes at me like he didn't believe a word I said, but he dropped it. I could tell he was agitated, and his speed suggested that he wasn't worried about breaking the law to get to where we were going, so I asked, "What's going on? Why are you in such a hurry?"

Randy clenched his jaw and breathed through his nose. I could tell he was making a strong effort to hold in his rage. I asked again, "What? Tell me!"

"Vince called this morning. Wade's filing a formal complaint against me," Randy said.

"For the RKO in the parking lot? I didn't think he'd bring that up because it would make him look stupid," I replied.

Randy shook his head, explaining, "It isn't that. Turns out Wade's been talking to Vince and the RAW General Manager about a lot of things, but he's been leaving out important parts and spinning his own version of things. He told Vince and the RAW G. M. about your abduction in Manchester, but he left out the part that I was actively involved in your rescue, and instead told them that I may have been involved in a plot to leave you stranded."

I listened intently as Randy continued, "He told them that I've been trying to get rid of you to get back at Wade and to thwart Wade's chances at the WWE Championship come Survivor Series. He told them I've been drugging you, and that's why you've been acting strangely lately and you've been avoiding the other wrestlers."

"That's bullshit. No one is going to believe it," I argued.

Randy sighed and said, "There's more."

I waited, and he reluctantly told me, "Wade told them that I've been beating on you. He told them about your injury as proof of my abuse. He also told them that...I raped you."

"What the fuck? There's no way that will stick! Wade is going to look like an ass when I tell them what's going on!" I shouted.

Randy replied somberly, "It's not up to you, John. They think you've been drugged so they won't believe that you're coherent enough to explain what really happened. They'll see your injury and a rape kit will come out positive because of what we did last night."

I was completely stunned. Wade had somehow managed to turn everything upside down. Randy's efforts to save me from Wade's wrath now sounded like efforts to abuse and violate me.

_He was also trying to take away my first time with Randy, and I wasn't about to let that fucking happen. _

I shook my head violently, saying, "No, no, it is not going to go down like this. I will do whatever it takes! I will lie, cheat and steal to make sure that Wade Barrett does not do a damn thing to fuck up our lives or the memory of last night!"

Randy looked at me with surprise, asking, "You're bringing Eddie's mantra into this?"

I pointed out, "He brought down some of the most villainous wrestlers in the industry. The man obviously knew what he was talking about!"

Randy smiled and replied, "You're right, but that was in the ring. Our villain is real, and he's playing dirty to get what he wants."

I was out of ideas. I shifted in my seat again, and Randy asked me thickly, "Did I hurt you last night?"

I stared out the window and watched the wheat fields we were passing as I answered, "Any pain you gave me last night was damn well worth it, and I'd do it again in a heartbeat."

Randy didn't reply, but I noticed he had a smirk on his face for the rest of our drive.

* * *

><p>We reached the next arena in the early afternoon. As soon as Randy and I got out of his truck, we were surrounded by a security team. They escorted us through a back entrance and a series of abandoned hallways, leading us into a room where Vince McMahon himself was waiting for us. He was holding a smart phone, probably to communicate with the RAW G. M. Vince focused on Randy first, explaining in a calm but assertive tone, "Now Randy, there are two men in the room across the hall that would like to ask you a few questions. I would suggest cooperating with them completely."<p>

"Absolutely," Randy said, turning to leave.

He gave me a deliberate look before he left. It inspired me to keep my hopes up. The security team left with Randy and Vince motioned for me to sit. I did my best to block out any pain I was feeling from my injury as I sat down and Vince took the seat across from me, looking me over for signs that Wade's story was true. Finally, he asked seriously, "How are you feeling, John?"

I responded by explaining, "This is all a big mistake, Vince. Randy is my best friend and he's been helping me during this tough time. I don't know what Wade has told you, but it's all lies."

Sighing, Vince replied, "It doesn't matter who said what. The accusation has been made and I am legally bound to investigate it for the safety of the wrestlers and this company. Now there are medical experts in the next room who would like to photograph any injuries that you might have, and they're going to ask you to submit to a rape kit as part of the investigation-"

"No! I won't do it!" I stood up and shouted.

Vince stood up with me, arguing, "I know that this is a lot to take in, John, but it has to be done. If you won't submit to testing, I could easily tell them to do it anyway because you may be under the influence of drugs and you're not coherent enough to make the decision for yourself."

I balled my hands into fists and stated, "Do you have any idea what I've been through since I had to join Nexus? Wade has done nothing but make my life a living hell, and now you're telling me that I have to go through a battery of tests because of some shit pile of lies that he made up?"

Vince waited while I paced the room for a minute, then he responded, "I know that things have been crazy between you and Wade; I understand that, but you don't understand that this goes above my head."

I looked at Vince with surprise as he continued, "I own this company, and I can control the people working with it to an extent, but Wade has a way of shifting the uncontrolled portion in a way that could cause a lot more problems than it would solve."

I couldn't believe Vince was telling me this. He breathed a sigh of relief, like it had been weighing on him for a while and he was glad to tell someone. Then he went back to the main point again, asking, "Could you please cooperate with me? People's careers are at stake. Their whole lives could be ruined by the outcome of this accusation."

He was talking about Randy. I let out a groan of frustration, then I asked, "If I go back to Wade right now and continue being his assistant without trouble, will he withdraw his complaint and end this investigation?"

Vince studied me curiously. I told him, "Call Wade and ask him if he'll take the deal. I'm pretty sure he will."

* * *

><p>Within minutes, I was released. Wade was waiting for me in the hallway, but I saw no sign of Randy. I became suspicious, asking, "Where's Randy?"<p>

Wade smiled wryly and replied, "He wasn' so easy to spring. He'll be on his way soon enough."

I wasn't so sure about that, but Wade put his arm around my shoulders and led me away, taking me to the other side of the arena, where The Nexus and CM Punk were waiting for us. As soon as I walked in, Slater glared at me and said, "Looks like Randy's bitch is here."

I started for him, but Wade held me back, pointing at Slater as he stated, "Oi! Tha' accusation has since been withdrawn!"

Slater blushed sheepishly and looked away. It became clear to me that at least The Nexus and Punk knew about the story Wade told Vince and the G. M. What wasn't yet clear to me was who else had heard it.

Smiling broadly, Wade explained, "Now, I have some business to attend to, an' while I'm gone, I'd like all of you to bring Cena up to speed on wha' he's missed so far."

My stomach felt tight. I knew that this was going to end badly for me. Wade turned on his heel and walked away, saying to me before he left, "Glad to have you back, John."

_As soon as Wade went out the door, I was going to be on the floor._

He closed the door and left me to my own defenses. Everyone but Gabriel and Punk took on predatory looks and slowly started to surround me. Slater shouted at me, "Do you know how much shit we've had to take because of you, Cena?"

"I was on laundry duty all week! Wade made me shine his boots and get him coffee at night," Otunga added.

McGillicutty stated furiously, "All Wade kept asking me was, 'Where's Cena? I wan' Cena!' Go an' find Cena!'"

Harris flanked my right side, adding, "Wade made me talk to Randy in Manchester. When I asked Randy if I could talk to you, he shoved me into the wall and bruised my ribs!"

Slater pointed at me and hissed, "Fuck you and fuck Randy Orton for making our lives miserable!"

Otunga added angrily, "We know that Wade's story about what Randy did to you is a lie, but since no one else knows the truth, we're going to make sure that Randy doesn't bounce back anytime soon."

"You fucking assholes!" I started for them.

They took me down like a pack of starving dogs over a bone. As always, they beat me in places where the bruises wouldn't be noticeable. Slater took one swift kick to my backside, and I cried out so loudly, the guys all stepped back with surprise, then they launched into me a second time, finding a new place to inspire my pain.

It didn't take long before the pain overwhelmed me, and I knew I was going to pass out. I thought I heard Punk shout something like, "Guys, stop!"

The Nexus fell away from me, and I used what was left of my energy to lift my head up. I saw Gabriel coming toward me with a slight smile on his unshaven face, and I thought for a moment that he was going to try to help me up.

Then he brought his boot up and let it drop into my temple, knocking me unconscious.


	11. With You in Any Position At Any Time

Author's Note (Jan 2015): I posted a poll on my profile page asking readers what wrestling stories I've written that they would like to see re-posted. The poll allows up to four choices. I will also post a poll about some unfinished stories to ask readers what they would like me to post with updates until it's finished. I can only post one poll at a time, so I'll be attempting to post polls on at least a monthly basis to keep it interesting. I've also included a brief description with the titles of each story listed so readers can get an idea of what exactly they're voting for (So don't worry if you don't remember the title of the story you liked, because the description should give it away)! Thanks for taking the time to send me your choices!

11:

"John, are you alright?"

I opened my eyes and saw Punk standing over me. The pain I felt was almost overwhelming as he helped me slowly to my feet. I asked in a daze, "What happened?"

"Nexus knocked you out and left to the ring for their scheduled match," Punk informed me.

I reached up and felt my head. Gabriel had kicked me hard, but he didn't leave much damage. Punk went on, explaining, "I heard what Dave Otunga said, about no one being able to help Randy. That's not entirely true, because Nexus doesn't know that I know what's going on."

"Are you saying you want to help me and Randy?" I asked, confused.

He clarified, saying, "I wouldn't be doing it for you or Randy. I just don't want to see The Nexus get away with any more shit."

"What exactly would you say?" I asked.

Punk led me out into the hallway and toward the meeting room where I last saw Randy, explaining as we went, "I would convince them that Randy isn't hurting you without telling them about your relationship. All I ask is that you tell The Nexus nothing about my involvement. I'm already in hot water after..."

He drifted off. I saw the look on Punk's face, and it was all too familiar to me.

_The Nexus had as much dirt on him as they had on everyone else. _

Punk regained his composure and pushed me along, saying, "We've got to work fast, before Nexus gets back from their match."

* * *

><p>I paced the hallway for almost half an hour, waiting for Punk to come out with Vince and Randy, but time was dwindling down and no one had made an appearance. I was beginning to lose confidence that Punk was even making a dent in the argument. Then suddenly, the door opened, and Randy stepped out first.<p>

Relief washed over me, and I couldn't help smiling at him. He smiled back for a moment to let me know that he was alright, then he went straight faced when Vince came out, followed by Punk and two geeky looking investigators in suits. Both investigators came over to shake my hand. The blond one said, "Everything has been settled, John. If you need anything, don't hesitate to call us."

He whipped out a card from his suit pocket and handed it to me. The other guy simply nodded and turned away, but the blond one kept beaming at me as they walked off.

_He was obviously a fan._

Vince took me aside and whispered, "If there is something going on that you're not telling me, or you can't tell me, let the investigators know. They might be able to help."

He gave me a reassuring look and a quick slap on the back before he turned and took off after the investigators, walking the same way he always did: like he has a stick up his ass.

I looked back and saw that Punk had already left. Randy nodded for me to follow him, and we found an abandoned room, locking ourselves inside. Randy took my head in his hands and kissed me passionately, then he broke away and asked immediately, "What did they do to you?"

"To me? I was worried about you!" I answered.

Randy shook his head, saying, "Doesn't matter what happened to me. Did they do anything to you? Did they run tests on you? If they did you wrong, I swear to fucking God..."

"They let me go," I said.

Randy gave me a quizzical expression, so I explained, "I told Vince that if I went back to Wade, this would all be over. Wade came and picked me up, but I realized too late that he wasn't going to help you."

Clenching his jaw over the mention of Wade, Randy held his tongue, letting me continue, "Wade took me back to The Nexus and left me alone with them. They kicked the shit out of me and Gabriel knocked me out. Thankfully Punk was there to wake me up, and he promised he'd get you out to spite The Nexus."

Randy was silent, then he closed his eyes and drifted off to that place where I could never follow him. I spoke to bring him back, asking, "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking about all the ways I can dismember Nexus and hide the bodies," Randy answered smoothly.

"I think I've got a better idea," I said, making Randy open his eyes to look at me intriguingly.

* * *

><p>"What the fuck, Cena? Get out of my light!" Slater yelled at me, shoving me over.<p>

We were all packed into the limo, headed to the nearest hotel after the show. I found Wade as soon as I parted ways with Randy, and Nexus was none the wiser that anything had developed since they left me out cold on the arena floor. Wade smiled arrogantly at me from his seat just across, thinking that he had all but demolished me since he got me back.

"How many tickets were purchased for this event? One thousand? Two thousand?" Otunga asked the group.

"Fourteen-hundred," Gabriel said, casting me a quick glance before he returned his attention to the window.

"Any hooded figures in the audience?" I asked aloud, referencing the mysterious attacker that came after me and Randy, but had not made an appearance since I was left stranded in Manchester.

The limo went quiet, and Wade and Nexus all stopped to stare at me. I glanced at each of their faces, but no one was registering anything suspicious. I shrugged and remarked passively, "Just making conversation."

"Whatever, Cena! It's best if you don't talk," Slater shot me the loser sign and chaos resumed.

"Wha' do you mean by hooded figga?" Wade asked me curiously.

I pretended like it was no big deal, answering, "Well, sometimes wrestling matches have hooded figures who interfere and they turn out to be another wrestler. It's a good suspenseful story line, but we haven't done it in a while."

Scoffing, Wade mentioned, "Maybe we should look into tha' again."

I nodded and glanced at Gabriel again. He was still looking out the window, but he had a strange look on his face.

_He looked like he was pissed._

"Driver! Hey driver!" McGillicutty yelled to the front, knocking on the privacy window.

The limo slowed to a stop and the privacy window rolled down. I already knew who it was, but Wade and The Nexus were all stunned when the death-masked driver let go of the wheel and turned to face them, saying in a distorted voice, "How is everyone back there? Enjoying your evening?"

I knew it was Cody Rhodes, but the rest of the guys didn't. They all went for the doors to bail, but as soon as they were outside, they were bombarded by a group of well masked thugs, or as I knew them, good friends from the RAW and Smackdown roster.

Covered from head-to-toe in costume, it wasn't easy to tell who the masked avengers were, but I spotted Randy easily because of his fluid like motions. He had painted his face to look like The Joker in the recent Batman film, and he was even donning a stringy wig that shielded his features and made his Viper-like expression even more venomous.

_It was easy to see he was completely enjoying himself._

The Nexus was in a panic. I saw Slater get beat down by whom I assumed to be Mark Henry, while Otunga received a punch to the throat from Teddy DiBiase. I thought it was Sheamus and Morrison who took down Gabriel, while Cody got out from the driver's seat and launched into his former NXT rookie, Husky Harris. McGillicutty tried to make a run for it, but he was slaughtered by a literal sidewalk slam from someone I didn't quite recognize, but I could have sworn it was The Undertaker.

Randy was focused only on Wade, but Wade wasn't about to be taken down easily. Wade used his streetwise to throw some punches, and he caught Randy in the shoulder, but Randy head-butted Wade and sent him to the pavement, then Randy launched into him with a series of kicks and punches.

The other masked avengers scattered and disappeared in different directions as planned, leaving only Randy and I behind. I could see Wade was fading fast, but Randy looked like he wasn't about to stop. I knew that if I let Randy continue, Wade would wake up in a hospital.

"Hey!" I shouted.

Randy stopped and looked up at me. I did as we had already rehearsed, acting like I had no idea who the masked men were. I charged up to Randy and shouted, "Get the hell out of here!"

I glanced at Wade to see if he was still conscious. He was barely awake, but he looked up at me with an almost grateful expression, whispering weakly, "Help me, John..."

I grabbed Randy like I was going to stop him, but he pulled me along and we pretended to wrestle each other until we were out of range, then we took off to find our getaway car and drove out of there as fast as we could.

Randy and I were laughing all the way back to the hotel. We laughed as we passed the hotel staff, and they went wide eyed from seeing Randy's Joker face. Randy was almost in tears from laughing so hard as we took the elevator up to his room. We chuckled down the hallway, and we could barely keep it together as Randy unlocked his room and we slipped inside.

As soon as Randy locked the door, we both became serious. He stared me down with a predatory expression, amplified by his Joker face. He grabbed me and pulled me into him, and we shared furious kisses that smeared his makeup all over and inside of my mouth and his, spreading it with our fingers as we grabbed each other and pulled at each other and undressed each other.

All that was left were our boxers and Randy's Joker wig as he pulled me into bed with him, but I felt a sharp pain from my injury and I pulled away from him quickly. Randy looked at me with a solemn expression, saying thickly, "Let me see it."

I was reluctant to reveal myself to him. I knew my injury was probably much worse than before, and I didn't know how he would react. He sat up and tugged the rim of my boxers, then he looked up at me to ask me wordlessly if it was alright to go on.

I nodded, and he slowly pulled my boxers down, letting them go past my knees so they fell to the floor. I stepped out of them and turned around, asking in a joking tone, "How do I look?"

Randy was silent. I looked over my shoulder at him, asking, "Randy?"

He was staring at my backside with his jaw clenched. His eyes were red with fury.

_No. His eyes were red with tears._

I became worried, rushing to the bathroom to see the damage for myself. I turned into the mirror, and what I saw made me cry out in shock.

From the base of my spine to just above my knees, my entire backside was covered with black blotches from multiple bruises. It almost looked like it was painted on, but when I touched it, the pain reminded me that the injury was real.

I saw Randy storm past me and I rushed back out just as he reached the door. I shouted, "Where are you going?"

"This ends now. Wade ends now," Randy stated.

"No, you're not going back out there!" I argued.

Randy turned to face me, asking angrily, "Why the hell not?"

"Because I want you now," I said.

Randy's eyes studied my naked body for several seconds while he considered what I said. He sighed and let go of the door, telling me with his usual dry humor, "What you just said is total cheese-fest, Cena."

I smiled, answering, "It worked on you, didn't it?"

He shoved me back into bed, but he was careful not to inspire my pain as he climbed in on top of me and used smooth kisses to tingle my skin. He became more aggressive when his lips came back to my mouth, groaning with pleasure as he reached down and massaged my balls between his fingers.

The effect of his touch was rapidly stimulating me, but he suddenly let go of me completely and looked away with a shameful expression. I asked, "What's wrong? Why did you stop?"

He closed his eyes, drifting to that faraway place again. He came back within seconds, telling me, "It's too selfish. I don't want to say it out loud."

"Tell me," I demanded.

Randy locked eyes with me and said somberly, "I want to fuck you so badly right now."

He looked away again, as if he should be punished for what he said. I told him honestly, "I would be asking you to if I wasn't in so much pain right now."

Sighing with understanding, Randy said thickly, "There's nothing like being_ in_ you, John."

I lifted a brow in surprise, asking jokingly, "Was that a cheese-fest line, Mr. Orton?"

He retorted dryly, "No, that was an all-I-think-about-is-sex-with-you-in-any-position-at-any-given-time line, Mr. Cena."

I laughed out loud, then I said, "Alright, if we can't do it, then we'll talk about something else."

"What?" Orton asked, giving me a funny look.

"Tell me what you would do to Wade if you could do anything," I said.

Randy smiled deviously and answered, "I think I would kick him in the face so many times, his features would look like mashed potatoes."

I busted out laughing, and Randy had to roll off of me to keep me from hurting myself underneath him. I told him when I caught my breath again, "That's ridiculous!"

"What? I'm from Misery, and they do shit like that all the time down there," Randy jokingly referenced his Southern home state of Missouri.

"You know what I would like to see? I would like to see you RKO Wade down a flight of stairs, without hurting yourself. I don't think that's possible, though," I said.

Randy closed his eyes to imagine it, then he opened them again and said, "I could plan it out so it would work."

"Oh really?" I asked incredulously.

"No problem," Randy answered, and I busted into a fit of laughter again, making him laugh as well.


	12. Shut Up, Gabriel

12:

I was walking down to the arena. There were thousands of fans surrounding me, but I couldn't really make them out. It was like when The Undertaker came out to the ring: the lights were dim, the fans were reverent, and the world was watching me make my way along.

There was a wrestler already in the ring waiting for me. As I came closer, I realized that it was Randy, and he was leaning forward with a big smile on his face. I smiled back and made a run for it, thinking I could do a baseball slide into the ring.

I was almost to the ring when something caught my eye. It was sticking out from underneath the ring apron, and I slowed my run to get a better look. It was still too hard to see with the dim lighting, so I assumed it was nothing significant and I leaned forward to slide under the ropes.

It reached out from under the ring apron and grabbed my ankle before I could get into the ring. It started to pull me out, so I tried to grab the ropes for support, but when I reached for them, I realized that they had disappeared.

The fans started booing so loudly, my eardrums throbbed. I looked at Randy desperately, reaching out to him to help me. He rushed down and reached for my hand, but it was too late.

Whatever had a hold of me was too strong. I fell backward onto the mat outside of the ring. I looked up at Randy one more time before I was pulled under the ring. He had this empty look on his face, like he knew that I was gone and there was nothing he could do about it.

"John? John, wake up," Randy shook me roughly.

"Huh?" I struggled to open my eyes, feeling like I had been hit by a truck.

"We've got to get you back. The Nexus is supposed to find you so they don't think you had anything to do with last night, remember?" Randy informed me.

I started to sit up, and my injury sent out violent shocks, fully awakening me. I groaned painfully, so Randy leaned in to help me to my feet, asking, "What can I do?"

"You got any massive pain killers?" I joked.

Randy turned his head to one side as if to analyze me for a moment, then he said, "I have something that might work."

"Is it legal?" I asked with a wry smile.

Randy scoffed and answered dryly, "Of course it is...in about four of The States and Eastern China."

_If it can kill this pain, I don't care what it is._

* * *

><p>Randy drove me to the next arena we were scheduled to be in. It wasn't very far from last night's arena, and it was a few blocks from where The Nexus got jumped, so it wasn't considered strange when Wade found me passed out in the arena locker room half an hour later, looking like I had been beaten and left there after the brawl the night before.<p>

_What he didn't know was that my "beating" was just leftover Nexus damage, and my "passed out" state was just an acting technique I picked up from an extra while filming 12 Rounds. _

I was taken to the hospital, where the doctor examined what he described to be, "Horrific damage done by a brutal group of people," and I was not only given a prescription to help with the pain, but the doctor made a point of telling Wade that my beating was the worst of all the Nexus members.

"The people who did this should be in prison for such an atrocity! You said there were at least twenty of them, Mr. Barrett?" the doctor inquired.

I lifted a brow at Wade. He cleared his throat and answered, "Tha's right. At leas' twenty."

The doctor looked at me and I nodded in agreement.

_I wasn't about to piss off Wade when he was actually being nice to me._

As the doctor left, Wade patted me on the back and said in a quiet tone, "I wan' you to know tha' I'm proud of you, Cena. You came to my aide las' night. I could 'ave had the kick of ten bells ou' of me."

_I assumed that meant he was glad not to have his ass beat._

Shaking my head, I replied solemnly, "I wish I could have done more. I mean, I couldn't identify the guys who did this. It may not have been guys. It may have been Beth Phoenix-type brawny chicks for all I know."

_I may have gone too far with this play. _

Wade chuckled and replied, "It's no matter. You came when I called an' defended me honorably."

He beamed at me, and it was so creepy, I had to look away.

_I think I threw up in my mouth a little bit._

* * *

><p>I rode with Wade and The Nexus back to the arena. The guys had mostly minor injuries, which was saddening to hear, but fortunately they were completely distraught by what had happened to them.<p>

"How could the driver not know who relieved him last night? I think it's a setup," Otunga vented while nursing the back of his neck.

"You think everything's a setup!" McGillicutty argued, and the others laughed.

Otunga narrowed his eyes at McGillicutty and seethed, "I do not!"

"You lost your gym socks last week and you said that was a setup," Harris pointed out.

"That phone booth rang in Manchester and when you answered it and no one replied, you said that was a setup," Slater added.

"And then there was that thing yesterday-" McGillicutty started.

Otunga cut him off, yelling, "Enough! You made your damn point! What do you think it was then, huh? A coincidence?"

The Nexus glanced at each other, but no one came forward with an answer.

Slater suggested after a long silence, "Maybe it was some of the other wrestlers. I mean, they hate us in the locker room right now."

"Yeah, but Cena got the worst of it! How did that happen?" Otunga debated.

Again, the guys were speechless. I was almost in awe of the situation, watching it seamlessly play out before me. Then Gabriel broke the silence with, "Some of Cena's injuries were from us. There's no way to know how badly he was really hurt."

The Nexus all turned to face me. I tried to hide the awkwardness with an apathetic shrug. Gabriel added grudgingly, "I swear one of the guys was Mark Henry. He was big."

_Shut the fuck up, Gabriel. Just shut the fuck up._

I braced myself, thinking the guys were going to start putting the pieces together, but Otunga replied to Gabriel angrily, "I told you it wasn't Mark Henry! I saw him leave with Eve and The Bella Twins to watch a local game an hour before we left! There's no way he'd ditch all that fine ass to beat on us!"

All of the guys except Gabriel nodded in agreement. Even Wade seemed convinced that it wasn't Henry. I breathed a short sigh of relief and waited for a subject change. Wade leaned forward suddenly and said something I didn't expect, "All I know is: someone is goin' to pay for wha' happened las' night, an' I've got the scunt in the trunk righ' now."

_Fuckity McShitfuck. _

"You've got someone locked in the trunk right now?" Slater said almost excitedly.

"He's shitted on all of us an' he deserves wha' he's abou' to ge'," Wade yelled.

He looked at me, but I kept my mouth shut and my expression devoid, pretending like the revelation didn't affect me much. Wade knocked on the window and stopped the driver, and Nexus got out as Wade slipped the driver a wad of bills and said, "Whatever happens, you didn' see a thing."

The driver took the cash and nodded. Wade motioned for me to get out, so I did, slowly making my way around to the trunk. Nexus moved in closed as Wade let the lid of the trunk pop open and we all gazed upon the traitor at once.

_It was Punk. Oh God, it was Punk._

His hands were cuffed behind his back, and he had an old gas mask over his head. He looked like he was struggling to breathe through it as McGillicutty and Harris pulled him out of the trunk and positioned Punk on his knees facing Wade. Slater was overcome with desperation for the first time since I had known him, asking Wade, "What are you doing? Punk is my friend!"

Wade argued violently, "He has been watching our every move an' tellin' it to Vince McMahon himself!"

I was completely shocked. I had no clue that Punk had been spying for McMahon. Slater was in shock as well, shaking his head as he said, "No, no, it's not true."

Wade pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and tossed it to Slater, saying, "You'll find all the truth you need right here."

Slater started checking the phone while Wade leaned down to Punk's level, saying mockingly, "Is it hard to breathe in there, Punk? I designed it tha' way. You won't suffocate so much as you'll jus' feel light headed, an' maybe pass out a' some point."

I swallowed to keep down the churning in my stomach. I could barely see Punk's face through the mask, but the fear was registering in his strained breaths. Slater must've seen enough evidence from the cell phone, because he suddenly launched at Punk, shouting, "You bastard! You fucking shitface, you were my friend!"

McGillicutty and Harris grabbed Slater and held him back. Wade took hold of Punk's gas mask and pulled it off, and Punk gasped furiously for air. He looked at me and said pleadingly, "John, don't let them do this to me."

Wade took control, stating in a calm but deliberate tone, "Someone in my gang is a liar, Punk, an' I know tha' you know who it is. You don' have to say a word, jus' point tha' li'le head of yours in the right direction, an' confirm my suspicions."

The Nexus stood stone still. My heart started pounding and adrenaline rushed through my veins. I knew that Punk was going to point his head at me.

Surprisingly, he didn't point at anybody, but said exhaustively, "I don't know. I don't know. That's the honest truth."

Wade stood up straight and put his fists on his hips, replying simply, "You point a' the culprit, an' you walk away from here unharmed. You refuse, an' we'll see wha' Slater wants to do with you."

"I don't know! I swear, I don't know!" Punk shouted.

_I can't take this anymore._

"It's me! I'm the liar!" I stepped forward.

Everyone looked at me and I explained the partial truth, "I hired some thugs off the street to beat you guys down last night to get back at you for beating me."

I waited for The Nexus to jump me, but none of them moved. Wade smiled wryly and stated, "Did you think I didn't know tha', Cena?"

I stared at him, astonished. He came up close to me and leaned into my face as he added, "I know everything you do, John, in every detail. You should inform Randy of tha' truth as well."

Wade puckered his lips to mock an air kiss before he turned back to Punk. I realized at that moment that the mock air kiss was meant to be a hit against my relationship with Randy.

_Was he indicating that he knew the details about that as well?_

Wade sighed at Punk and said, "Although Cena love to martyr 'imself, he's oddly no' the shitter this time, so tell me who the real liar is."

The Nexus glanced at each other suspiciously. Punk shook his head and replied, "I really don't know. If I did, I would tell you."

"Well, then. Mask goes back on," Wade said, reaching for Punk's head.

Punk pulled away from him and tried to move away, shouting, "No, I won't put that thing on again! I can't breathe in it!"

Wade signaled for Otunga and Gabriel, who held Punk by his shoulders so that Wade could get the mask back on. Punk kept pleading with Nexus, "No! No, you can't do this to me! I won't say anything, just don't put the mask back on! Don't put it back on!"

He let out on last, painful cry before the mask silenced him.

_I had never heard someone scream like that before._

* * *

><p>That night, Wade and I rode alone in the limo back to the hotel. I was not allowed to see what The Nexus did with Punk, but I was told he would still be conscious. Wade sat across from me, pondering my face for signs of an expression he could criticize, but I gave him none. He finally asked me quietly, "You hate me, don't you, John?"<p>

_I did hate him, but I didn't want him to know that._

"I don't hate you. I just don't understand how you can be so...cruel."

Wade scoffed, asking blatantly, "Is tha' what you think this is? Cruelty?"

I locked eyes with him and explained, "You don't just use harsh words and take the mic for long speeches and rant and rave about somebody for a while. You take your frustrations out for real. You don't wrestle people. You _demolish _people."

Wade smiled like I had given him a compliment, then he grew serious, asking, "Do you want me to say tha' my father was violent an' a drunk? Do you want me to say my mum didn't tell me she loved me as a child? Do you want me to say I grew up hard an' never learned to care?"

I shrugged. Wade leaned in and stated, "My leadership is not designed from some lost, boring child's play. I am the alpha, an' I want everyone to know tha', no matter wha' it takes."

He sat back as if he had proved his point well enough. I suddenly asked him, "What if I don't give you the title at Survivor Series."

Wade squinted one eye at me, asking, "Wha'?"

"What if I let Randy keep it. What if I let myself get fired and you get nothing," I said simply.

A short laugh escaped Wade's lips, then he told me, "You still think your actions matter, Cena. Wha' you don't understand is tha' nothing you do matters. I will get the title, even if it means getting you fired. Even if I 'ave to put Randy on the injure' list. No one is ou' of bounds."

I knew that what Wade said was the complete truth. He would hurt anyone, fire anyone, and mow down anyone it took to get to the Championship.

_As far as he's concerned, he already sees his name on that title._

* * *

><p>"Come in," Randy said when I knocked on his hotel room door.<p>

I locked the door behind me, and Randy got up to greet me. I started kissing him as soon as he got close, and although he was shocked at first, he quickly welcomed my lips against his own. Randy was usually the possessive one, but I took control this time, grabbing his belt and tugging him closer to me so that I could open his pants.

He pulled away from me and looked down, asking jokingly, "What do you think you're doing down there?"

"Fuck me," I said.

Randy locked eyes with me, stating, "You're still hurt."

"I said fuck me," I repeated more strongly.

"John," Randy started to argue again.

Hot tears formed in my eyes as I told him again, "I want you to fuck me, Randy. Do it, or goddammit, I will explode!"

"Alright, alright," Randy relented, seeing the pain in my ocean colored eyes.

He let me slowly take his clothes off, trying to kiss me from time to time, but I kept pulling away from him to finish what I was doing, and he half-smiled like he enjoyed my tease. He took his belt before I could drop it to the floor, and when it was my turn, Randy smiled at me deviously as he pulled my clothes off more roughly, then he wrapped the belt around my wrists and tightened it just enough so that I couldn't easily break free, getting me back with a tease of his own.

Randy let me to bed. I positioned myself on my stomach and he came up behind me. He seemed to slip in more easily this time, but the pain from my injury was more intense, and I couldn't help letting out a slight moan.

"John?" Randy asked quietly.

"Keep going," I ordered him.

Randy started off slow, then built up like last time, but he was intentionally using less force than I knew he wanted to. The pain seemed to be synonymous with the pleasure, until I couldn't tell the difference between the two anymore. Randy started groaning with each thrust, and I closed my eyes, saying aloud, "Randy."

He pressed his lips to my ear and breathed, "Say it again, John. Say you want me to fuck you."

"I want you to fuck me," I said, and he growled into my ear.

"What do you want, John?" he asked.

"I want you," I answered.

"Where do you want me, John?" he asked.

"Wherever you can put it," I groaned.

Randy took in a sharp breath, and I knew he was climaxing. He asked me one more question, "Who owns you, John?"

"You do," I said just as Randy released.

He stayed above me as he finished, saying smoothly, "Roll over. I want to do something for you."

I did as he said and turned over to face him. Randy kissed my lips a few times, then he started kissing my throat, down to my chest, down to my abs. I closed my eyes, feeling him kiss down, and down, and down...

Then I felt his mouth surround my erection, and I forgot all about my pain.


	13. High Karate

13:

I opened my eyes the next morning and felt Randy lying underneath me, his chest rising and falling slowly while he slept. I glanced at the clock because Randy hated the alarm and almost never set it, and I knew we would be late from the time it beamed back at me, but I didn't want to wake Randy and have this moment torn away from me like all the others.

I reached out and ran my fingers along Randy's left shoulder, tracing the edges of his tattoos. I remembered that he was in a lot of pain after he got them. He always said that getting the tattoo was easy, but the 2 week healing process of peeling skin, a constant sunburn sensation and eventual scar tissue over the ink was like no other pain.

_I wonder if he would still say that after meeting someone like Wade._

He must have woken up from my touch, because Randy mumbled at me jokingly, "Stop it, you're making me horny."

I stopped tracing his tattoos, but I shot back, "Well in that case, want a quickie before we get going?"

Randy opened one eye and focused on me with a mischievous smile. Then he told me thickly, "Come here."

I leaned into him and he grabbed the back of my head, pulling me into a forceful kiss. He pulled away suddenly and his face went sour as he said, "Cena, your breath is toxic."

"Sorry," I mumbled, rolling over and covering my mouth with my hand.

"Hey, I didn't say stop," Randy argued, rolling over on top of me to sneak more kisses.

Randy kissed me slowly; deliberately. He reached for the back of my neck again, and ran his fingertips across my hairline, then he traced down my jawline to my throat. He took my neck in a strong but not threatening hold to slightly constrict my airway as he let go of my lips and asked me quietly, "Does this bother you?"

I shook my head, whispering, "No."

"What if I held a little tighter?" he asked, constricting his Viper's grip on my throat.

It was still not enough to be threatening, but the constriction was actually kind of stimulating. Randy teased me by hovering his lips above my own as he asked, "Does this turn you on?"

"Yeah," I said, and he finally relented to kiss me some more.

We made out for several minutes in silence, then Randy pulled away and said dryly, "Come join me in the shower. I have some pent up sexual frustration that I need to take out on you."

I laughed and he glanced at the clock. Randy saw the time and panicked, shouting, "Shit, we gotta get going."

He started to get out of bed, but I grabbed onto him and pulled him back in, saying, "Please, don't get up. Not yet."

"What? We're going to be late, John," Randy countered.

He tried to leave again but I held him back. He breathed a frustrated sigh and asked, "Why won't you let me get up?"

I confessed solemnly, "When you get out of bed, it means that we'll have to get dressed and get ready and separate for the day. It means I'll have to find Wade and listen to his dumbass orders and do them exactly the way he wants me to. It means I'll have to wonder all day what The Nexus is going to do to me next. It means I'll have to put you in the back of my mind and not think about you at all because if Wade saw any glimmer of hope in my eyes, he would know it was from you and he would get rid of you so fast, and I can't let him take you. I won't let him take you."

Randy gave me a sympathetic look and leaned in to kiss me more deeply. When he pulled away, he pressed his forehead against mine, closing his eyes as he said half-jokingly, "Cena, why is it that you can make these moments into such chick flicks, and yet I'm still somehow totally and completely in love with you?"

He pulled away to open his blue-green eyes and look at me. I mocked a girly tone as I said, "It's my eyes! No one can resist them!"

Then I blinked furiously to prove the joke. Randy laughed out loud, then he grew more serious and stated, "I'll tell you what. You do what you need to, and sometime during the day, I'll sneak you away and we can have a moment to ourselves."

"No, Randy, I don't want you to risk getting caught with me," I said worriedly.

He replied with a half-smile, "It's a risk I'm willing to take. Anytime, anywhere."

He kissed me one more passionate time, then he asked with his dry-humor tone, "Now, do you want to join me in the shower, or do I have to dry hump you on this bed to get some action?"

I pretended like I had to think about it, so Randy suddenly grabbed me in a bear hug and started humping me like the neighbor's dog. I tried to get away from him, shouting, "Ugh! Randy, stop it!"

He just humped faster, which put me in a fit of laughter. My eyes started watering and my side hurt from Randy's persistent pelvic thrusting. I managed to shout, "Stop...stop, already!"

Randy took on a mock girly tone and let out an exaggerated moan of pleasure, then he told me in the same tone, "Oh, John, you're sooooo hot! Have you been working out?"

_Now I was never going to stop laughing._

* * *

><p>"Cena! Cena, are you even listening? Cena! No' like tha'! Cena! Cena! Cena!" Wade kept screaming at me.<p>

"What?" I shouted with frustration, stopping what I was doing to focus on Wade.

We were outside, enjoying the nice weather before the RAW fans came to enjoy the show that night. It was going to be the likeness of the old wrestling theme, and most of the original wrestlers from past decades were attending the event, so McMahon had organized a picnic to let everyone enjoy themselves and grab a bite to eat before we all had to go back inside and get ready for the show. Instead of joining the fun, however, Wade had decided that Rowdy Roddy Piper and I had to rehearse for the show.

_He also seemed to be getting a kick out of nagging me in front of Piper._

"I want you to start listenin' to me!" Wade argued, stepping close.

"I am listening, but I don't know what you want me to do!" I shot back, feeling surprisingly defiant today.

Wade opened his mouth to counter me, but Piper stepped between us and tried to back us away from each other, saying calmly, "There's no need ta fight when there's no ring around, boys. This is rehearsal, an' we're here to work out strategy before the fight."

Piper turned to face me and explained, "Cena, I think Barrett's idea is that you come out to my Pit, we argue about Survivor Series, I want you to do the right thing, you say you'll be fair, Barrett comes out an' argues, Randy comes out an' argues, Randy roughs up Barrett, you stop Randy from deliverin' the RKO, Randy gives you an RKO, you turn around an' AA both Randy an' Barrett, an' I hightail it outta the ring, then you leave defiant an' strong."

I nodded. It sounded a lot better when Piper explained it. Wade scoffed and stated, "So are we clear?"

"Crystal," I smiled mockingly.

"Aye, let's see what damage we can do now, eh?" Piper clapped his hand over his fist in excitement.

Wade stepped forward and interjected, "Wait, wait, wait, I have another idea. What if Cena gives you an AA too, Piper? Jus' to make people wonder wha' he'll do next?"

I shook my head and stated, "No. I won't do that. Not in a million years. Not to a legend."

Piper looked at me like he hadn't heard a compliment like that in a while. Wade started to argue with me again, "Cena, I am the one who orders you, an' I say-"

"No! I will not risk the safety of another wrestler for you!" I interrupted.

Wade started for me, and Piper reached out to stop us from colliding again. Then Bob Orton appeared from out of nowhere and asked, "What's goin' on here, boys?"

Piper breathed a sigh of relief. I glanced at Wade, and he smiled at me wickedly.

_He was sure to take advantage of Randy's father for as long as he was here._

Wade straightened up and replied politely, "There's nothin' to be concerned abou', Mr. Orton. We were just havin' a spat between boys."

Bob smiled knowingly and said, "Save your energy for the ring, boys. It's a 3-hour special, you'll have plenty of time to diffuse yourselves!"

Then he wrapped his arm around my shoulders and hugged me close, asking, "I haven't seen you in years, Johnny! How are you? How's your father?"

The mention of my dad struck something deep inside. I choked up a little as I said, "I haven't...I haven't been able to talk to him in a while, so I'm not sure."

Piper and Bob exchanged glances and Bob told me sympathetically, "Sometimes it's hard to keep up with family in this business. That's why you just gotta make the time."

I nodded, then Wade got Bob's attention by asking, "Where might your son be, Mr. Orton?"

Bob glanced around quickly as he answered, "Oh, I haven't seen him. He's probably trying to avoid me, you know, being his old man and all."

He leaned into me and whispered jokingly, "I cramp his style."

I chuckled, and Wade narrowed his eyes at me, then he asked deliberately, "Weren't you with Randy last, John?"

Shrugging, I answered, "I haven't seen him."

Wade put his fists on his hips and replied like he didn't know what he was implying, "Well, where did he run off to when you left his hotel room this morning?"

_Wade's accent was always perfectly fucking clear when he was trying to cause trouble._

Piper gave me a confused look, and I turned my attention to Bob, waiting for his reaction. He was thoughtful for a second, then he looked at me and said, "Oh, you had to go get him up, didn't you? He hates those alarms and he almost never sets them. He's rather be late every damn day of his life than hear those damned alarm clocks!"

I breathed a quick sigh of relief. Wade scoffed and looked away, fuming from his defeat. Bob glanced around again and pointed ahead of us, saying, "Speak of the devil!"

I looked up and saw Randy coming toward us. He was flanked by Teddy DiBiase and his father, the Million Dollar Man, as well as Cody and Dusty Rhodes. Teddy and his father were arguing, and when they came closer, I could hear Teddy saying frustratingly, "Dad, it's a beard and I want to grow it!"

Ted Senior objected, saying, "Son, when you grow a beard, it has to be thick and vibrant! You want to demand attention from the ladies, not make them laugh from your peach fuzz!"

"Dad, it takes a while to grow out, okay? It'll be fine!" Teddy argued.

"Not if it doesn't look manly," Teddy Senior mentioned.

"You know what? I don't need your help! I'm fine," Teddy shouted.

"Oh yeah? Where's my Million Dollar Belt?" Teddy Senior asked with a lifted brow.

Meanwhile, Dusty handed Cody a bottle of cologne and said, "This will surely get you dashin' up for the ladies!"

Cody beamed, shouting, "High Karate! Ohmygodnoway! They don't make this anymore! This rocks the shit!"

Everyone went quiet when Randy came up to us and asked, "What's all this?"

Bob explained with a smile, "Wade was just telling me that Cena was in your hotel room this morning. You didn't set the alarm again, did you, son?"

Randy shot Wade a deadly look, then collected himself quickly and shrugged, replying simply, "You know I hate waking up to alarms, Dad."

Teddy Senior brought up his argument again, saying to his son, "You know, Teddy, that light beard of yours is going to deter all the ladies."

Rolling his eyes, Teddy answered, "Dad, I told you, I have a lady!"

"What? That Maryse? She puts her hand in people's faces all the time! It's completely rude! Besides, I never know what she's saying half the time with all that French she babbles. You should have gone with The Bella Twins. That way, if one was pissed at you, you could just swoon the other one!"

"DAD, PLEASE!" Teddy yelled.

Piper put his hands up and shouted, "Alright, alright! Let's just go on a walkabout by ourselves for a while, an' we'll come back an' start again real soon!"

Teddy took off like a shot. I did the same, not wanting to wait around for Wade to give me another order. I walked around to the other side of the arena, where the parking lot came around to a trap door that led down to the basement. I was going to walk past it, but I heard Randy's voice say from behind me, "John."

I turned around to face him. He smiled and took me by the wrist, opening the trap door and leading me down to the basement. We didn't go far before Randy pinned me up against the wall and started kissing me furiously.

He moved his hands underneath my shirt and touched me randomly, gripping odd places before moving on like he was trying to decide where he wanted to stop. It was intriguing and stimulating, and I was having trouble concentrating on his kisses with his hands moving all around me.

We parted for a moment and he asked, "Are you excited about tonight?"

"You mean getting an RKO? Not so much," I joked.

Randy lifted an inquiring brow, asking, "Why not? You don't want us to finish each other in the ring, in front of everyone?"

I chuckled at the innuendo, but answered seriously, "I just hate that feeling of falling with your RKO. After I broke my neck fighting Batista, I just feel even worse about it. I mean, I know you're protecting my neck as I fall, but it's like, that's the only part of me that's absorbing the shock, and if I were to land wrong or my head was just a fraction off when I came down..."

Randy leaned in closely to me and kissed the surgical scar on my neck. The scar radiated and my eyes fluttered a little from the pleasurable sensation that I felt. Randy came back to meet my eyes and said strongly, "I would never put you in harm's way, inside or outside of the ring."

I closed my eyes and responded quietly, "I know that."

Randy reached down and unzipped my jeans. I started to argue with him, "Randy, don't. If someone comes this way and hears us-"

He put his free hand over my mouth while reaching into my pants with his other hand as he started to rub me out. He started off slowly, then he suddenly started rubbing really fast, creating so much friction that the pleasure was making my eyes roll into the back of my head. Randy took his hand away from my mouth and held onto me as he rubbed even faster, urging me to come before the short time we had alone together was up.

"Oh, fuck...oh, fuck..." I groaned.

Randy pressed his lips to my ear and whispered, "Let it out, Cena. I want to see you release."

"Oh, fuck, Randy..." I could feel myself peaking quickly.

Then I heard Bob from nearby shouting, "Randy? Johnny? Where are you two?"

"FUCK!" I yelled out of panic, feeling an intense climax at the exact same time.

Randy took hold of the tip as I came into his palm. He took his hand out and shook the mess off, then he used his other hand to quickly zip up my pants. I was still stunned as Randy grabbed me by the arm and pulled me back up from the basement. Bob and Wade were just coming to get us as Bob shouted happily, "Ho, there!"

Wade focused on me, instantly knowing that something was up. He seemed disappointed that he hadn't caught us in a more deviant looking situation, and I began to wonder if Bob and Wade had not happened this way by accident.

"Let's go inside, Dad," Randy motioned for his father to walk with him.

"We've go' work to do as well, Cena," Wade stated.

I followed him without another word.

_I was so damn blissful, I didn't even think I could speak anyway._

* * *

><p>RAW aired live that night, and everything went as planned.<p>

When I stepped between Wade and Randy, and Randy looked up at me for a moment before giving me the RKO, he expression was more intense than usual, but the crowd didn't seem to notice, thinking that his intensity was because of the fight in him. He held onto my neck more carefully for the RKO, something he never did before, and I wished I could have stopped everything just to thank him for that.

I made my way backstage alone, then I waited around for Randy. I heard someone behind me say, "Could we talk, Johnny?"

I turned around and saw Bob standing there. I nodded and he put his arm around me again, leading me to a more secluded area of the arena before he said, "Now, Johnny, I want to ask you something very important, and I need you to be honest with me, no matter what."

_Please don't ask about my servitude to Wade._

Nodding, I braced myself for his question. Bob stopped and turned to face me, asking, "Are you in love with my son?"

_What?!_

I felt like a deer in the headlights right before impact. Bob stood there, waiting for me to answer. I could have told him any series of lies, stories and other creative ideas that whizzed through my head at that moment, but all that came out was the truth.

"Yes," I confessed.

Bob sighed and looked away. He didn't seem to be upset so much as thoughtful. I asked, "Are you angry?"

With a slight frown, Bob explained, "Well, most fathers would probably be angry in this situation, but Randy's been crushing on you for so long, I'm just relieved he finally got it over with."

_What?! What?!_

My eyes bugged out of my head and I asked, "Are you kidding me?"

Bob shook his head, then he asked me rhetorically, "You think he just woke up one morning and decided he loved you?"

When he said it like that, it did sound pretty far-fetched. Bob told me, "You and Randy came into the business about the same time. He took an instant liking to you. He thought your white thug idea was a bit on the outrageous side, but really unique, and he saw so much potential in you. Both of you rose to the top together, and all these years, he's had nothing but total respect for you, Johnny. He thinks the world of you, trust me."

I couldn't help the tears that formed in my eyes as I said, "Thank you for telling me that, sir."

Bob nodded, then he asked, "Who else knows about you two?"

Straightening up, I answered, "I don't think anyone else is sure about it except for Wade."

Clicking his tongue, Bob replied, "That must be why he's been trying to drag me around and leave hints all day, hoping to get me to catch on to you too. Dirty British bastard."

I laughed out loud. Bob chuckled himself and gave me a pat on the back, saying, "You watch over my son, alright? He doesn't listen to me anymore, but maybe you can keep his senses clear. I want him to remember that there are things just as important as this business, and I hope he sees that in you."

"Thank you, sir. Thank you," I waved at him as he walked off.

Feeling upbeat, I turned on my heel and started walking back toward the locker room, hoping to catch up with Randy there. I was just rounding the corner when someone grabbed me and pulled me through an open door, closing it behind us before they pinned me against the wall.

"Randy," I breathed, leaning in to mash my lips against his.

But I felt something scratch my face.

A beard.

I instantly pulled away to face the bearded stranger. I could only see an outline of a hood, and it suddenly dawned on me: the attacker had returned.

He kneed me in the stomach and I was launched forward, then he kneed me in the right cheekbone and I fell backward. My head bounced off the floor and I became dizzy and confused, but the attacker didn't capitalize.

He backed away so I could not see him. I tried to call out, but my voice was barely a whisper, "Help...I..."

I couldn't see my attacker, but I knew he was still there.

_What was he waiting for?_


	14. Playback, Please

14:

I listened, but I couldn't hear my attacker, and it was too dark to tell if he was still there. In a last ditch effort, I closed my eyes and pretended to pass out, hoping it would entice him to come close again.

I heard someone coming near, then I felt a hand touch my chest. I grabbed it and pulled as hard as I could. The attacker hurtled over me and hit the wall, crumpling to the floor in a heap. I sprang to my feet just as I heard Slater's voice shout from the hallway, "Cena? Cena, where the hell are you?"

My attacker wasn't going anywhere, so I rushed back to the door and ran out into the hallway just as Slater and The Nexus were walking past. They stopped, and Slater opened his mouth to argue with me, but I spoke out first, shouting, "You've got to come help me!"

"What? What's the matter with you, Cena," Slater countered, but I pointed at the door and explained quickly, "I was almost attacked by the same guy who got Randy in the shoulder! I knocked him out and I need you guys to go in there and hang onto him so I can get McMahon!"

The Nexus stared at me like I had gone off the deep end. I heard Wade's voice shout from behind me, "Oi, Cena!"

I whirled around and called to him, "Wade! Wade, come here!"

Wade was making his way toward me, and I noticed that Randy and Bob were right behind him. I felt a rush of relief when I saw the concern on Randy's face.

_At least somebody would listen to me._

"Johnny, what's the look of panic for?" Bob asked when they came near.

I explained to Wade, Bob and Randy, "I was just attacked by the same hooded guy who got Randy a few weeks ago! I trapped him in this room!"

I turned around and pointed to the door that I came from, realizing at that moment that it had a handwritten label taped on it that said: GIRL'S LOCKER ROOM-RESERVED.

Slater mentioned almost as soon as I realized it, "You trapped a _guy_ in a part of the girl's locker room?"

"Well, I mean, he dragged me in there, and it was dark, so I didn't know...but he's in there! We have to go in there and get him before he wakes up!"

"Wakes up?" Bob asked, but I was already rushing back through the door.

"Hold on, Cena," Wade warned, but I had already gone back into the room and hit the lights.

I pointed before looking as I said, "He's right here, he's right-"

Once I laid eyes on the attacker, I was stunned speechless.

_It wasn't the attacker lying unconscious on the floor. It was Nikki Bella._

Bob and Wade rushed to help her, while The Nexus gathered off to one side to gawk at my huge mistake. Randy folded his arms and stayed near the doorway, possibly to keep anyone else from coming in. I didn't dare look at him, because I was about to have a complete meltdown.

"Oh my God, Cena! You totally bashed a chick!" Slater retorted loudly.

I shook my head violently, saying determinedly, "No, it wasn't Nikki who attacked me! My attacker was hooded and he was a man because he definitely had a beard!"

Otunga immediately narrowed his eyes with suspicion and asked, "I thought you said it was dark? How did you know the attacker had a beard?"

I glanced at Randy. He was analyzing me with his eyes, trying to determine what was happening without saying it out loud and rousing The Nexus, and his gaze became more intense once I locked eyes with him.

_He was just as curious as Otunga to know the answer to the question._

I completely lied, saying, "I reached out to grab him and I felt a beard."

"What if it was just hair? Nikki has long hair," McGillicutty pointed out, further damaging my credibility.

"It was a beard, okay? It was on his face! I don't know why Nikki's on the floor, but the attacker was real and he was after me!" I demanded.

Otunga put out his arms in a sarcastic gesture and replied, "Wait a minute, wait a minute. I think I know what happened here."

With a wry smile, he explained snidely, "Cena and Nikki were probably in here with the lights out doin' the dirty, when things got too rough, and now Cena's crying wolf so we all think it was just an accident."

The Nexus laughed out loud.

Their humor was short lived.

Randy rushed forward and speared Otunga in the stomach, then picked him up and launched him into the opposite wall.

For a moment, everyone was stunned, then The Nexus started for Randy.

Wade shouted from the other side of the room, "Nexus, stop!"

They did as he ordered. Randy started pummeling Otunga with his fists, and Bob rushed past me to stop him, shouting, "Randy, Randy, get off of him, son!"

Bob tried to get his arms around Randy to pull him off of Otunga, but Randy shoved his father aside and continued to pummel Otunga. The Nexus was eager to tackle Randy, but remained where they were since Wade had not told them to move yet. Bob turned to look at me with desperation in his eyes, and I knew what he wanted me to do.

I ran up to Randy and caught him on his left side, shoving him backward in an attempt to get him off of Otunga. Randy was both surprised and infuriated by my attempt to stop him, and purely on instinct, he grabbed me by my jeans and twisted so that I lost my footing, then he shoved me as hard as he could into a dozen stacks of chairs against the far wall.

Colliding with the chairs wasn't so bad, but like a domino effect, they all started tumbling down around me, hitting me in random places as I put my arms up to block them. One chair's metal leg managed to catch me in the back of my neck, right where my scar was. It sent a shock of pain through my upper body, and I cried out just as the last of the chairs hit the ground.

"Johnny? Johnny, are you alright?" Bob frantically tried to get to me.

"Nexus, ge' John out of there!" Wade ordered.

They moved to get through the mess of chairs to help me, although less enthusiastically. I held my neck and looked up at Randy with agitation. He was looking back at me with an expression like he had just done the worst thing in his life. I glanced at Wade as well, but he was just smiling arrogantly.

* * *

><p>I did get to see McMahon, but it wasn't for the reason that I was hoping for.<p>

McMahon reserved an empty meeting room in the arena for Randy, Nikki, Otunga and I to sit and plead our cases to him. I had an ice pack on my neck, Nikki had one on the back of her head where she had hit the wall, and Otunga had one on his stomach where Randy had speared him. Randy didn't need an ice pack, but it was obvious from his expression that he was extremely conflicted.

McMahon centered on me first. I explained what had happened, not including the part where I had mistaken the attacker for Randy and kissed him, and when I finished, McMahon turned to Nikki and asked, "Now, would you like to tell me why you were reaching out to John Cena in a pitch black room?"

Nikki sighed and explained, "I came in through the door on the other side of the locker room. I was just going to get my jacket, and I didn't bother to turn the lights on because I knew exactly where it was. When I reached for it, though, I realized it wasn't there, so I was going over to turn the lights on when I thought I heard someone whisper that they needed help. I stopped and I heard someone breathing, so I reached down to feel where the sound was coming from. I seriously thought it might be one of the girls talking in their sleep, and I didn't want to turn the lights on and scare them awake."

McMahon nodded that he accepted Nikki's story, then he asked, "Did you hear anyone going past you on your way to John? Where there any sounds that someone else was in the room?"

Nikki shook her head, and I felt a drop in the pit of my stomach. She replied simply, "I didn't hear or see a thing."

McMahon nodded once more, then he told me, "John, this doesn't look good. You were in the girl's locker room and you knocked out a Diva. I could suspend you indefinitely."

Randy's eyes widened and he sat up straight, ready to object, but Nikki spoke first, saying, "I don't think that John purposefully hurt me, and I don't want to file any complaints against him. I think this was just a misunderstanding, Mr. McMahon."

I added with a nod to Nikki, "I'm very sorry for hurting you, Nikki. Extremely, completely, utterly sorry. It was a misunderstanding and it will never happen again."

"Thank you, John," Nikki smiled.

McMahon sighed and replied, "Well, if there are no charges being filed, and considering your spotless record, John, I will reconsider suspension and instead place you on probation. Since you are officially Wade's assistant at the moment, I'll talk to him about negotiating the terms of probation and work it out with you as well."

"Understood," I stated.

Then McMahon turned his attention to Randy and asked, "So, why the hell did you rush David into a concrete wall?"

Randy burst out angrily, "He was being disrespectful to Cena and Nikki and I could not stand there and let him insult them like a punk-ass bitch!"

Otunga glared at Randy, but Randy folded his arms and stood his ground.

_I knew that he had rushed Otunga primarily to defend me._

Nikki became confused, asking, "What did David say about me, Randy?"

Randy looked at her, and his confidence faltered slightly. None of us had realized that Otunga had made his comment while Nikki was still unconscious. McMahon motioned to Randy and asked, "Well, what did David say that deserved a wall crushing spine-buster?"

Sighing heavily, Randy explained hesitantly, "Otunga was saying that Nikki and Cena were...having sex in the locker room in the dark...and they got too rough and that's why Nikki was out and Cena was making up some attacker story."

Nikki stood up and launched her ice pack into Otunga, slamming him right where it counts.

Otunga let out a loud and painful groan and doubled over onto the floor, holding his crotch in addition to his already damaged stomach. Nikki stormed over to him and started kicking his backside, shouting, "You disgusting, stupid, bastard!"

"Ow! Ow! Get her off! Get her off!" Otunga pleaded desperately.

I had to put my hand over my mouth so I didn't bust out laughing. McMahon carefully took Nikki around the waist and pulled her away from Otunga. Nikki pulled out of his grip and walked over to Randy, grabbing either side of his face as she planted a huge, wet kiss right on his lips.

My eyes almost busted out of their sockets. Apparently, seeing a gorgeous Diva giving Randy a thank-you-with-a-little-tongue kiss was a huge turn on for me.

She let go of him and said sweetly, "Thank you for defending me, Randy."

Then Nikki shot Otunga one last look of death before she walked out of the room. McMahon looked down at Otunga with mild interest as he said to us, "I suppose you're all free to go."

I looked at Randy, who looked back at me with a stunned expression. I could see that Nikki had left her mark, in the form of her lipstick smeared all over Randy's lips and chin. I made the motion for him to wipe his mouth, and Randy reached up to try and wipe off the smear, which only made it worse.

* * *

><p><em>What a damn night.<em>

The legends were all boarding a bus to catch their flights home that night. Randy and I said our good-byes to his dad and the other legends, then Randy stayed behind to get his dad settled while I went back to the hotel to check in for the night. I knew that Wade would be wondering where I was, but I took my time wandering around alone before I went to find his room.

As soon as he opened the door to let me in, he asked, "Well?"

I put my arms out and joked, "The results are in: I'm not pregnant!"

Wade didn't laugh.

"I meant is Otunga going to be alrigh'?" Wade stated.

_Oh. Excuse me. I thought you were wondering about me._

"He'll be fine. He won't be able to jerk off for a few days, but oh well, it'll give his hand a rest, too," I refused to be serious.

Wade sighed with frustration and went back to sorting his suitcase, which was on one of two beds. I glanced at them and asked, "Why did you get double beds?"

"In light of what's happened, I've told Mr. McMahon tha' you would be safer staying the night with me, in my hotel room," Wade said simply.

_Waddafuck? Playback, please._

"Are you kidding me?" I asked, but Wade made no mention that he was joking in any way.

I shook my head and stated, "No, no, I am not, I repeat, NOT staying here with you!"

Wade turned to me and responded calmly, "You have no choice, Cena. Mr. McMahon has confirmed it's part of your probation until further notice."

"I didn't agree to this! It's not happening!" I shouted.

"It's not yours to agree with, Cena! You are my assistant an' you are under watch, so therefore, I am your watcher until your probation ends at Survivor Series!" Wade countered.

I opened my mouth to argue, but there was a furious knock at the door, followed by pounding as Randy's voice bellowed from the other side, "Wade, you let me the fuck in right now or I'll bust this fucking door down!"

With an apathetic sigh, Wade said, "I was hoping Third Place wouldn't discover your probation terms for a while longer."

He wandered over to the door and waited until Randy stopped pounding on it before Wade said through it, "You'll have to stay calm and restrain yourself, O, or I'll make certain tha' Cena doesn't spend another night with you for a long, long time."

The other side of the door went quiet, and Randy didn't pound on it again. Wade slowly opened the door, and Randy cautiously made his way inside, coming to stand next to me. Wade closed and locked the door, then put his arms out like he was greeting old friends, saying, "Aren't we a happy trio, then?"

_Fuck you, Fuck-nuggets._

"I want to speak to Cena alone," Randy stated.

With a slight frown, Wade explained firmly, "This is my hotel room, which means I can be anywhere I like in here."

Randy took me by the shoulder and led me to the bathroom. Wade shouted a British profanity at us as Randy slammed the bathroom door and locked it, then he went to the bathtub and turned the shower on to drown out our voices.

Then Randy focused all his intent on me.

He put his hands on either side of my face and focused his eyes with mine, asking intently, "How badly did I hurt you today?"

I answered honestly, "It wasn't bad. One of the chairs hit my neck and it's a little stiff, but I'm fine, really."

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry," Randy closed his eyes and pressed his forehead against mine.

The steam coming up from the bathtub was making the moment more heated and intense than it would've been on its own. I leaned in and matched my lips to Randy's, and we held our kiss for over a minute before he let go and opened his eyes to look at me again, saying thickly, "What I did was completely wrong. I wasn't thinking."

I became more concerned about other things, saying, "That's not important right now. What is important is that I was attacked again, and I need to tell you what I didn't tell McMahon."

Randy went into full listening mode, asking, "What happened?"

"When he pulled me into the room, he pushed me against the wall like you had done earlier that day in the basement, so I thought it was you and I said your name out loud, then I kissed him."

"You what?" Randy's expression was a mix of surprise and anger.

"That's how I knew he had a beard. I don't know what he'll do with what I said, but he's probably decided that something is going on between us since I said your name before I kissed him," I explained.

Randy sighed heavily and said, "Alright, I guess there's nothing we can do about that. Anything else you're not telling me?"

I took on a suggestive look and Randy's eyes widened with renewed anger. His grip on my face tightened as he seethed at me, "What the hell have you not told me?"

I explained further, "Wade hasn't outright said it, but he's made suggestions that make me think he probably knows who the attacker is. I'd say the attacker might be working for him, or he might be a member of Nexus."

Randy's grip lessened and he remarked, "I thought that might be the case."

"Wade hasn't completely admitted to it, yet, so for now we just have to pretend that we don't know anything until he does," I said.

Randy gave me a hard look, but we were interrupted when Wade banged on the door, calling to us through it, "What are you two doin' in there? I don't wan' little swimmers spread all over the floor!"

Randy let go of me and I turned the shower off just before he opened the door. Wade stood there and eyed us both with a wry smile, as if he were imagining what we had been doing seconds earlier. I swallowed the upwelling of bile in my stomach from the thought of Wade fantasizing about me and said, "I'm going to bed."

"I'm staying here, too," Randy added.

"What?" Wade and I asked Randy at the same time.

Randy stated boldly, "Wade, you'll sleep in one bed, while I stay with John in the other bed. He'll be underneath the covers, I'll sleep on top. No comments, no jokes, just sleep."

Wade frowned and said, "You take all the fun out of the ride, Third Place."

Randy argued with a point of his own, "You could have seen the ride, W. B., but you went and fucked it up for yourself."

Taking on a wicked smile, Wade asked, "Wha' if I put the deal back on the table? You two fuck each other while I watch, an' Cena goes free; title stays yours? I'll even have Nexus capture your attacker an' stop 'im for good."

I countered angrily, "No fucking way, Wade! You already told me none of it matters anyway!"

"Wait, Cena," Randy lifted his hand to stop me.

I looked at him with surprise. Randy focused on Wade and stated, "Cena and I want a day to come up with the terms."

Wade became determined, stating, "You are under _my_ terms."

"Then fuck you and your deal, Wade," Randy said.

Wade took a step closer to Randy and said darkly, "I'll bet your always on top, Orton. I say Cena fucks you."

"No, absolutely not. We are not doing this," I started.

"You free Cena before Survivor Series," Randy negotiated.

Wade turned his head to one side and remarked, "Tha' is going to cost you dearly."

"How much?" Randy asked.

"Randy, stop!" I shouted.

Wade leaned into Randy and stated without emotion, "You say my name right before you come."

"Fuck this! We are not doing this!" I yelled.

"Deal," Randy said, shaking Wade's hand.

I was completely stunned. Randy added before letting go of Wade's hand, "You watch and you say nothing. I don't want your damn mouth running the whole fucking time."

Wade chuckled and turned to walk back into the room. Randy turned around to face me and said thickly, "Come here."

I was still stunned, but I made my way over to him. He took my head in his hands again and said to me quietly, "We will do this for your freedom. We will do this to stop the attacks on you. We will do this to stop Wade once and for all."

"No, I can't, I won't," I shook my head.

"It's just the two of us in that room. Just the two of us. Imagine you and me. You...fucking...me. Imagine how much I'm going to enjoy it. Just us...Just us..." Randy tried to seduce me.

It wasn't helping. I didn't believe a damn word Wade said, and now he was supposedly going to throw everything he had against me away just to watch me fuck Randy? It sounded so unreasonable, I couldn't even fathom how Randy was actually believing all of this.

_This is wrong. This is so fucking wrong._


	15. Not Thinking About Sleep

15:

Randy put his hands on my hips and slowly led me out to the bed. Wade was already leaning back contently in a chair, waiting for us to put on a show for him.

_That's all he thought this was. A show. _

I could barely will myself to move. Randy took control, shoving me onto the bed as he lay down on top of me and started kissing me. I was so nervous, my hands were trembling. Randy seemed to notice and brought both of my hands under his shirt to touch his body, possibly to keep Wade from noticing as well. I kept trying to glance at Wade, but Randy would move his lips so that I had to keep changing angles away from Wade's view. I also noticed that Randy's kisses were passionate but slow and methodical, something that was not characteristic of him.

_Unless he was doing it because he had a plan going. _

I wanted so badly for this to end. I loved being with Randy, but thinking of Wade watching us was like an old man hitting on an underage girl. It was sick, twisted, creepy, and the old man should know better.

Wade suddenly sat forward and stated to Randy, "Are you purposefully wasting time on this, Or'on?"

Randy pulled away from me and gave Wade an acidic look, stating darkly, "No, I just happen to be someone who believes that putting a little effort into it beforehand makes the sex that much better."

Wade narrowed his eyes suspiciously, so Randy added, "Now what did I tell you about closing your mouth?"

I waited for Wade to counter, but he didn't. He shut his mouth like Randy requested.

_Holy fuck. I thought Wade was in control of this situation, but it's obvious that Randy was the one in complete control. _

Randy returned to my lips but lingered above them teasingly as he asked thickly, "What do you want me to take off first, John?"

I felt the usual swelling of arousal from what Randy said, but it was followed by the jilting fear that Wade was just as anxious to see Randy naked as I was.

_Swelling gone. Ah, hell._

"Um..." I started, glancing at Wade.

Randy quickly moved to block my vision of Wade, pressing his lips to my ear as Randy explored it with his tongue. I couldn't help chuckling from the stimulation he was producing, and I felt a little more at ease as I said, "Alright, your shirt...shirt..."

Randy pulled his tongue back and returned his gaze to mine. He took my hands one at a time and made them travel up his sides, then he waited for me to remove his shirt. I pulled it over his head while he smiled mischievously, then I tossed it aside as Randy lowered himself so his chest was up against my shirt. I put my hands on his sides while he ran his fingertips through my short hair, asking me, "How does my skin feel, John?"

"Warm," I said, beginning to forget that Wade was still there.

"Does the warmth make you feel good?" Randy asked.

"Yes," I sighed, feeling the swell of arousal again.

"I want you to do something for me, John," Randy said.

"Okay," I whispered, stimulated by his fingers massaging my scalp.

"I want you to take off your belt..." Randy began.

"Yeah?" I urged him to continue.

"...and beat my ass with it," Randy finished.

_Wait...what did he just say?_

I was stunned to silence, but Wade was up like a shot, shouting as he lunged for Randy, "You fucking cum licking arse-hole!"

Randy was up just as fast and he and Wade started struggling, shoving each other all over the room. I got up and went into a defensive mode to break up the fight, but Randy was too fast for me to get a chance to interject.

Without warning, Randy shoved Wade toward me, and I had a split second to come up with something that would stop Wade from colliding with me.

Instinctively, I chose to do the A. A. finisher.

Wade's momentum made it easy for me to pick him up on my shoulders, but instead of pausing like I always did on RAW, I just continued to brace his momentum and flung him onto the floor.

He landed with a rough thud that knocked the wind out of him. Randy took his own belt off and rushed over to Wade, then Randy whipped Wade in the face with his belt as he shouted, "Do you like that, Wade?"

Wade put his hands up to shield himself as Randy whipped him again and again, seething venomously, "How does that feel, huh? How does that fucking feel when you didn't ask for it?"

I had never seen Randy so violently crazed outside of the ring before. I knew that if I didn't stop him, Randy would whip the skin off of Wade's body.

"Randy!" I shouted, but my voice sounded strangled.

He didn't look up at me, but Randy did toss his belt aside. I breathed a sigh of relief, but Randy wasn't finished.

Dropping to his knees, Randy clutched Wade's head in his hands so that Wade was forced to lock eyes with him, then Randy stated boldly, "I know what you've been up to. I know why you had Nexus attack Cena on your debut. I know why you've been telling Nexus to torment Cena, and I know why you've gone to great lengths to attach yourself to Cena."

Randy went on, saying darkly, "I know that you told Slater and Otunga to kidnap Cena and leave him by that house in Manchester. I know that you planned to keep him there for a while, but he had an allergic reaction to the sedatives he was injected with and your plan backfired."

My eyes widened with surprise and anger as Randy continued, "I know that you hired an attacker to stalk John, and you used the same attacker to get to me so that I would go away. I also know that you rigged Cena's cell phone to send nasty messages to Slater, and you planted a listening device on Cena's new cell phone so that you could turn it on and listen to us when Cena and I were together."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I also couldn't believe how guilty Wade looked as Randy continued, "I started connecting the dots when you went crying to McMahon and claimed I raped Cena. You wouldn't have made an accusation like that unless you were absolutely sure that Cena and I had been together. You made the mistake of choosing to make your claim just after our first time. It was too much of a coincidence, but still, I couldn't be sure. Not until I put the deal back on the table tonight, and I saw what you just did."

Randy leaned in closely to Wade and finished with the biggest revelation of all, "I know that you're obsessed with John Cena. You don't want him for love, but you want to possess him. Physically, emotionally, mentally, and especially, sexually. You're a sadist, but John ran away from you instead of submitting to you when you beat him. You know that John allows me to dominate him, and it kills you inside. The difference between us is that I control myself, and I ask before I do anything to John, because I respect him. And now that you know the truth, it doesn't matter if John stays with me or not, because you will never, _ever _have him."

I stared down at Wade. His eyes were filled with tears. Randy let go of Wade and stood up slowly, at ease after he had finally gotten his revenge. I couldn't help seeing a total difference in Wade as he rolled over and started sobbing quietly. He was no longer a fearsome, diabolical, evil genius, but at that moment, he had been reduced to a sniveling little boy.

Randy reached for his shirt and started to walk out the door, motioning for me to follow him. I had to force myself out of shock to leave. Wade called to me pleadingly as I reached the door, "Don't leave, John!"

I turned back to glare at him as I stated acidly, "Don't say my fucking name! Don't fucking say it ever again!"

Then I walked out the door and I didn't look back.

* * *

><p>Randy and I took his truck and drove to another hotel. We checked in and Randy unloaded our things. We were both silent the whole time. At some point, Randy turned to face me, and as I looked at him, I just fell apart.<p>

He took me into his arms and held me while I sobbed, trying to rid myself of all the pain and suffering I had to endure for the last several months. I don't know how long I cried, but when the tears wouldn't come anymore, I looked up at Randy and pressed my lips against his.

We explored each other with kisses while we removed clothing until we were completely naked and lying in bed together. Randy had pulled a condom out of his jeans and put it on the bedside table, and after we had touched each other and kissed each other and massaged each other for a long time, he took the condom and handed it to me, saying, "I want you to ride me tonight, John."

"I don't know if I'll last long," I said, referring to my injury, which was not bothering me yet but had the potential to ruin Randy's request.

Randy shook his head, saying thickly, "Doesn't matter. I just want to feel you inside of me."

I nodded, and Randy let me slide out from underneath him. I got on my knees and put the condom on while Randy relaxed on his stomach and waited for me. I clutched myself and leaned forward, slowly slipping myself in behind him.

Randy groaned with a mix of pleasure and pain. I let out a groan of my own, finding this sensation to be completely new to me. It was warm, and wet, and defiantly tight around me, which made it hard for me to thrust, but as Randy relaxed and I became more accustomed to the sensation, it became easier to push harder, then faster.

"John," Randy echoed quietly each time I pushed in.

My injury began to throb, but I ignored it. This was much too stimulating to stop now. It felt like our first night together, but more powerful, and I couldn't help feeling release coming on fast.

Randy reached around to hold my backside, squeezing it to let me know that he liked what I was doing. It inspired my injury to spasm, but it only spurred me on, and I cried out from the pain as I started moving more roughly inside of Randy.

He moaned loudly and closed his eyes, letting me claim him. I moved even faster and came just as Randy reached his own climax, then I rolled off of him and collapsed into bed, breathing heavily as the rush of relief washed over me.

Randy looked at me and I looked back at him, then we both laughed. We were silent for a minute, then I became serious and asked, "What do you think Wade's going to do now?"

Randy frowned like he didn't like the serious subject, but remarked boldly, "Oh, I'm counting on him raising hell, and I have plenty of ways to stop him."

I rolled over to face him and asked, "Why didn't you tell me that you knew all about Wade?"

Randy explained quietly, "I only found out about the listening device a few minutes before I came to get you. The other ideas were just a hunch until I heard that Wade was keeping you in his room, and I knew he would try something on you if my hunch was right, so I had to be there. I thought if I got him to think he was in charge, then I threw his game back in his face, it would show me once and for all that what I believed was the truth, but I had to make it look like you were innocent, because he's been watching you for so long, he would've known that something was up."

I nodded with understanding, then I asked, "What did you mean when you said that I didn't ask for Wade to beat me?"

Randy replied thoughtfully, "Some people like to be punished now and then, sometimes for stress relief, sometimes for sexual release, but I think it's completely dishonorable to inflict pain on another person without their expressed permission, and what Wade did was just sick."

I paused before asking, "Do you think about doing something like that to me?"

Randy locked eyes with me and shook his head, stating, "I would never hurt you like that, John."

"No, I don't mean like Wade did it, but like I would ask you to do, like..." I trailed off.

Randy smiled slightly and finished with, "Like in a way that it feels good."

"Yeah, yeah, that's what I mean," I said.

Randy sighed and glanced at the clock, saying, "We've only got two hours to sleep before we have to be up to catch our flight."

"You really want to sleep?" I asked suggestively.

Randy just flashed me a dry half-smile, and I knew he wasn't thinking about getting any damn sleep.


	16. Hurt Me This Time

16:

"Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome...John Cena!"

I walked out to the podium as my fellow wrestlers stood up and cheered. I took my place and put my hand out to settle them down, then I smiled broadly at my family in the front row before I began, "I would like to thank so many people for this opportunity tonight. I never thought I would really see myself being inducted into the WWE Hall of Fame. In fact, I never thought I'd see myself doing anything that involved fighting giants and dwarfs!"

The audience laughed, and I continued more seriously, saying, "I just don't have enough time to really thank the people that brought me to where I am today. I suppose I could thank on man in particular: a Mr. Wade Barrett. He put my career on overload after he and The Nexus infiltrated the WWE and changed the industry forever. Sure, it was a tough road, and I wasn't always happy with it, but Wade was the reason that the fans started backing me up every step of the way. Wade made people want to buy tickets to see me. Wade made the fans remember what it was to see main event wrestling again."

I paused for a moment, searching the crowd for Randy. I saw him in the far left corner, watching me with his intense gaze. I spoke more to him than anyone else as I said, "Some of you may know Wade as the man who ended Randy Orton's career at Survivor Series in 2010. It was an unfortunate accident, and I have to admit that Wade has done everything possible to turn the industry around to avoid any future accidents. So far, his plan has worked, and here's hoping that it continues to work for decades to come."

I could see Randy's grip tightening against his wheelchair. He hated that I had to talk about Wade like he was some kind of Saint. I turned my attention back to the crowd and finished with, "Thank you so much for my induction. Here to say a few words on my behalf is our WWE Chairman, Mr. Wade Barrett!"

Motioning to the curtain, I waited for Wade to appear as the crowd stood up and cheered again. A big smile spread across my face, and although it was faked, there was nothing I could do about it.

_I had to appease my boss._

I opened my eyes and saw the blinding light of the sun through the window of the plane. The dream began to fade as I realized I had been sleeping during our flight to the next city. I smelled something putrid and looked over to see Randy sitting next to me, working a plastic knife in a can of SPAM.

I groaned and asked, "Why are you eating that stuff?"

Randy shrugged as he spread some on a cracker, answering dryly, "I like the taste."

"How? It tastes like cat food!" I retorted.

Randy gave me a stern look as he shoved the SPAM topped cracker into his mouth and crunched it loudly. I gagged dramatically in response, so Randy swallowed and leaned in to whisper, "Maybe I'll just kiss you after and you'll get used to the taste."

I warned him in a quiet tone so no one around us could hear, "You aren't getting anywhere near my mouth with that SPAM breath!"

Randy mocked a frown and sat back, but mentioned passively, "Guess I'll have to kiss you somewhere where you won't mind the smell."

I lifted a curious brow, but he didn't elaborate. I couldn't tell if he was joking or not, and I didn't have time to find out. Otunga suddenly appeared from the aisle and nodded at me. Randy became visibly tense, but Otunga ignored him, telling me, "Hey, Cena, Wade wants to know when you're meeting up with Nexus tonight."

_Uh...like I have a choice?_

I shrugged and said, "Whenever Wade wants me to."

Otunga squinted like it was painful for him to respond to me. I thought it was strange, but his behavior got even more strange when he replied, "Wade says you make the decision."

For a moment, I was in a state of shock. Then I said the first thing that came to mind, "How about late? I mean, if Wade doesn't want me to do anything right away."

Otunga still seemed off, but shrugged at my response, saying, "Yeah, that'll work. Wade said he wants you to wash his car, but that's it."

I felt like I was still in a dream. I told Otunga, "Okay, I'll see Nexus later, then."

Nodding, Otunga struggled to tell me, "Look, on behalf of Nexus, I want to tell you that we're sorry for treating you badly, Cena."

_This had to be a dream._

I waited to wake up, but I didn't. Otunga went on, saying, "You're a team member of Nexus, and that means we should treat you like one."

I didn't know what to make of it. I just replied, "Uh...thank...you?"

Otunga gave me another quick nod and took off back to his seat as fast as he could. I looked at Randy with a shocked expression and asked, "Did you just see that?"

He was stone faced, replying darkly, "Yeah, and I don't like it."

I became confused, asking, "What are you thinking about?"

Randy locked eyes with me and stated, "I'm thinking Wade is planning something big, and this is just the start of it."

* * *

><p>I knew that Randy was probably right.<p>

Still, I couldn't help being back with my friends again.

The other wrestlers welcomed me with open arms, laughing and joking with me like I had never left. We spent hours hanging out in the arena before the show, telling stories and throwing around ideas and making fun of ourselves. It was like old times again, and I fell right into the jokes and the fun and the good times, forgetting completely about Wade and Nexus.

Randy stayed against the far wall, watching the goings on with folded arms and a permanently set brooding stare. I tried to be as laid back as possible to get him to join in, but he wouldn't budge. I knew he was upset by Otunga's oddly pleasant demeanor earlier, but Randy seemed to be more put off than usual, and as time passed, he almost seemed to be getting worse.

"Look, Cena! Look!" R-Truth told me.

I focused on him as he rapped, "I'm black and I'm proud and I'm runnin' the streets, throwin' hands down and makin' tricks for treats, when here come my boys and we's out in the town, throwin' it down and shoutin', 'Hey ladies!'"

R-Truth bellowed the last two words of his rhyme, and everyone laughed. I added a second verse to the rhyme just off the top of my head, "I'm white and I'm loud and I'm layin' it down, hopin' everyone will see me out on the town, when it all comes down I'll be runnin' it cool, 'cause I'm the only one thinkin', "Man, I rule!"

R-Truth almost hit the floor laughing. I was getting carried away myself, just throwing lyrics down for good humor.

_I could get used to this again._

Randy moved out of the corner of my eye. I looked over and saw him leaving the room, so I casually got up and followed him out into the hallway. Randy stopped a short distance away so that no one could overhear us before he asked me boldly, "What are you doing in there, John?"

"I'm just having fun," I said honestly.

Randy paced the hallway, telling me, "I know Wade's planning something, I know it. He wouldn't be so kind after I humiliated him."

I replied seriously, "I know that, and I'm not scared."

Randy stopped pacing and stared at me. I explained, "I'm not gonna wait around all day for Wade to strike. It's too painful. I might as well enjoy what freedom I have while I still have it."

Coming close to me, Randy said thickly, "You don't understand, John. I can't bear seeing the look on your face when Wade turns on you again. It's...devastating."

He looked away, and I could tell he was drifting into that place in his head where I could never go. I replied to ease him back again, "It won't happen because I'm prepared this time. Just let me enjoy this freedom while I have it, and I want you to have fun, too. Okay?"

Randy looked back at me, but I could tell he was still conflicted. He reached for my face as he leaned in to kiss me, but our lips weren't able to touch before our friends started to file out into the hallway to get ready for the show.

Randy reluctantly let go of me, and I gave him one last reassuring look before I rejoined our friends. I waited for Randy to join in, too, but he never did.

When I looked back a few minutes later, I realized that he was gone.

* * *

><p>The show went on without a hitch. It wasn't televised, but the audience was just as pleased to see us as any live show. I didn't see Wade, but Otunga told me that I was scheduled to be in a match against Ted DiBiase, and I was overjoyed to know that I was being given the chance to wrestle again.<p>

After the show, I looked for Wade to get his keys so I could clean out his car. I found him in one of the empty rooms, but his back was turned to me and he didn't greet me when I came in. I asked quietly, "Wade? Are you busy?"

He had his gym bag on the table, and he was sorting it as he asked passively, "Wha' do you want, Cena?"

"Otunga told me you wanted me to clean out your car," I mentioned.

Wade continued to treat me like I was unimportant, saying, "It's no matter. Jus' go back to your hotel an' your precious Or'on."

I wasn't sure what angle Wade was playing. I asked, "Are you sure? Do you need me to do something else? I've got time."

"No. Tha'll be all, Cena," Wade answered.

I turned on my heel to leave, thinking that certainly Wade would stop me at the last second to do something outrageous for him.

_But he didn't. He didn't say anything at all._

* * *

><p>I went to the hotel where Randy was staying and went up to his room. I noticed the door was slightly open, and when I walked inside, I saw Randy sitting at the side of the bed, facing away from me. I closed the door and asked jokingly, "What are you just sitting around for?"<p>

Randy didn't laugh. He turned his head to one side and asked me accusingly, "Where were you?"

I was a little put off by his tone, but I replied anyway, "I had to clean out Wade's car, remember? I found him but he decided it was no big deal."

Randy didn't respond, but faced away from me again. I asked him, "You alright?"

"Why are you always with him?" Randy asked, his tone spiteful.

"You know the answer to that. What's wrong with you?" I came around to face him better.

Randy grabbed me when I came close and pulled me into bed with him. He got on top of me and pinned my arms down, pressing his body against mine with unusually rough force.

"Ow," I breathed, unsure what to make of Randy's sudden ferocity.

He stared me down for a moment before he asked more calmly, "Did Wade do anything to you?"

"No, I'm fine," I answered.

Randy lessened his force on me, but leaned in and grasped my lips with his own in a passion, almost violent kiss. He continued to make out with me roughly as he tore at my shirt, ripping it off of me like he couldn't wait to see me naked. I pulled away and joked, "I could have pulled it over my head, you know!"

Randy ignored me and continued to kiss me harshly. I didn't mind that he was being more dominant, but he was being unpredictably hard on me, and I was beginning to think that something was wrong.

Randy suddenly bit into my lower lip and pulled it, splitting it open slightly on the inside before he let go and sat up. I grabbed my lip and I tasted blood from it as I shouted, "Randy!"

He smiled wickedly at me, like he didn't really care that he had upset me. Then he told me, "Roll over. I want to fuck you now."

Normally, I would have been completely turned on by that request, but Randy's attitude was making me uncomfortable. I let go of my lip and said, "I don't want to."

"Roll over!" Randy shouted, trying to force me on my stomach.

"No!" I shouted, shoving Randy back.

We struggled, but Randy was not willing to give up. He tried to grab me around the neck, but I kicked him in the leg and shoved him off of the bed. He stumbled to the floor, and he seemed to be having trouble getting back up again. I got up and ran out the door as fast as I could, not stopping until I was a distance from the hotel.

As soon as I stopped, I grabbed my cell phone out of my pocket and called for an ambulance. I gave the dispatcher the address of the hotel and Randy's room number, then I told her, "I think he's been drugged."

"We'll send someone right away, sir. Please stay on the line," The dispatch woman said.

I didn't stay with her, but I hung up and waited. As soon as the ambulance came, I turned around and walked off.

_Randy was right. Wade did have a plan. Turns out the plan wasn't to hurt me this time._


End file.
